Ephemeral films

2,929–2,976 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 Ford Animated Weekly 1916 · Cartoon Series of some 20 episodes, some with animation, illustrating news events and Ford-related subjects. This episode shows Buffalo Bill and the 101 Ranch Wild… Internet Archive The Big City 1956 · Film St. Louis’s annual report to taxpayers. The Big City visually illustrated how tax dollars were put to good use and was considered a “graphic, fluent and… Internet Archive At Laskiainen in Palo, Everyone Is a Finn 1983 · Educational · 58 min VHS Produced by the Smithsonian Office of Folklife Programs Documents the celebration of Laskiainen, a Finnish midwinter festival, as it is observed by… Internet Archive Heritage: Civilization and the Jews, 5 -- The Search for Deliverance 1984 · Educational · 59 min Title from data sheet Junior high school students through adults Host Abba Eban explores Jewish culture and civilization from the Jewish expulsion from… Internet Archive Oil 1971 · Educational A brief survey of the oil industry, showing how in just over a hundred years it has shaped the way in which people live. Shows how oil was formed and where it… Internet Archive The Spirit of Rome (1965) 1965 · Educational · 30 min Uses scenes from Shakespeare's Julius Caesar and George Bernard Shaw's Caesar and Cleopatra to depict the tremendous spectacle of ancient Rome. Filmed in Rome… Internet Archive Blame It on Love 1940 · Film Narrative promoting the sponsor’s Hotpoint appliance line. The plot involves a wealthy manufacturing heir who elopes with a nightclub singer who can’t cook.… Internet Archive Journey of the Blob 1991 · Educational This classic, wordless film from the "Look Again" series tells a story that appeals to all ages, and is used widely in environmental education courses around… Internet Archive Ancient Lives: 1 -- The Village of the Craftsman 1986 · Educational · 24 min VHS format An 8-part series about life in ancient Egypt [1] The village of the craftsmen -- [2] The Valley of the Kings --[3] An artist's life -- [4] Temple… Internet Archive Courtship and marriage motion picture 1962 · Educational · 58 min Describes characteristics common to crustaceans and explains how they are related to other arthopods of the past and present. Studies the structure and life… Internet Archive Chickenfeed : a fowl look at money 1984 · Educational · 18 min The San Diego Chicken demonstrates six concepts of the monetary system: exchange-voluntary agreement between individuals (direct and indirect), medium of… Internet Archive A Corner in Wheat 1909 · Educational Linda Arvidson, James Kirkwood, Christie Miller Director, D.W. Griffith Describes the rise and fall of a callous financial manipulator, and the social… Internet Archive Apollo-Soyuz Test Project Facts 1975 · Feature · 46 min The Apollo-Soyuz Test Project (ASTP) was the first human spaceflight mission conducted jointly by two nations. A Russian Soyuz launched on July 15, 1975,… Internet Archive DOPE 359 2002 · Film · Subtitles Ed Rosenthal Trial, Marijuana Logs, WAMM Bust. See scans of liner notes for detailed content. Internet Archive Eleanor Steber In Opera And Song Film "Throughout her long and brilliant career in opera and on the concert stage, soprano Eleanor Steber almost singularly defined the ideal American singer.… Internet Archive Nixon: Checkers to Watergate 1976 · Educational Research, Marshall Harvey A documentary film which traces the political life of Richard M. Nixon, using footage from his campaigns, family home movies, and… Internet Archive Daisy: The Story of a Facelift 1983 · Educational · 29 min Title from data sheet Intended audience: Adults Issued also as videorecording Documents the case of a woman who had a face-lift, following her from the… Internet Archive Fundamental Theorem of the Calculus 1967 · Educational Mathematician, Morris Schreiber Uses animation to demonstrate the fundamental theorem of the calculus. Defines F(x) as the area under f(x) from a fixed point… Internet Archive History of space travel: Episode 7, Your Share in Space 1980 · Film Using a film first released by NASA in 1962, explores what the space program is trying to accomplish, and what benefits are gained from it. To license this… Internet Archive A V Geeks Lunch 12 07 2021 Film A V Geeks Lunch 12 07 2021 Giant Tuna Hot and Cold Sleeping Beauty (Coronet) Danny's Dental Date Man Who Gravity Forgot Internet Archive Our Post Office 1956 · Film We see Susan and Jimmy sending to a mail order catalog for a gift for mom. Highlights everyday activities in a city post office. This film can be purchased on… Internet Archive The Critic 1963 · Educational Shows the critic reacting to a new art film in his local cinema. Satirizes the reactions of audiences to today's films Director, Ernest Pintoff Internet Archive 25 Years of Progress, Episode 9: Transition Years 1983 · Film The Apollo-Soyuz mission marks the first joint US/USSR space mission. Two Viking spacecraft land on Mars and conduct the first extensive search for life on… Internet Archive America in Space: The First Decade 1968 · Film This film provides a 10-year history of National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) role in the exploration of space. It describes major… Internet Archive Cassette: "Dance, Sing and Listen Again" 1987 · 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 Filmstrip: "Cheetah in... "What Do You Do About Rules?" Part 2" 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 DOPE 368 2003 · Film · Subtitles Ed Rosenthal trial, Shuttle Columbia explodes See scans of liner notes for detailed content. Internet Archive Fighting Tank Fires 1961 · Film Provides information on procedures for controlling and extinguishing tank fires with water.p> This film can be purchased on DVD and higher quality versions of… Internet Archive Men of the Coast Guard 1938 · Newsreel · 24 min Made prior to the outbreak of WWII, "Men of the Coast Guard" presents America's first line of shore defense. Seen in this film are the Coast Guard cutters,… Internet Archive Gay Freedom Day 1970s LLSF 2016 20 Mbps 2016 · Film A home movie of jubilant gay marchers during an early 1970s Gay Freedom Day march on O'Farrell Street past Macy's and into the Civic Center. Part of the Lost… Internet Archive A-Tish-Oo! 1941 · Documentary · 5 min A 1941 British film about how coughs and sneezes spread diseases. Some masks that can be worn to help stop the spread of diseases are shown. Produced by… Internet Archive The Lymphatic System 1979 · Educational Title from data sheet Also issued as videorecording Made in West Germany Educational consultants, John Annegers, Romayne H. Fargo Discusses the… Internet Archive They Back-Doored Us 1999 · Film It depicts the Art Attack staged on Friday, June 18, 1999 called "Wall Street West is All Tied Up!" which happened on Montgomery Street between California and… Internet Archive David Swan: A Fantasy 1977 · Educational · 22 min Based on the short story by Nathaniel Hawthorne Witnesses a series of events that almost change the course of David Swan's life--three brushes with fate;… Internet Archive Television: An RCA Presentation 1939 · Film Film promoting television sets and the broadcast of New York’s first regularly scheduled programs. The short shows RCA’s production studios in Rockefeller… Internet Archive Insects: The Lovely and the Lethal 1980 · Educational Title from data sheet Consultant, Charles L. Hogue Intended audience: Intermediate through senior high school Also issued as videorecording Examines the… Internet Archive Breathing Film Breathing We digitized and uploaded this film from the Orgone Cinema 16mm Archive. Email us at footage@avgeeks.com if you have questions about the footage and… Internet Archive Teach a child to talk. 1975 · Talk Helps parents learn more about a child's speech and language development. This film can be purchased on DVD and higher quality versions of the film can be… Internet Archive Brotherhood of Man 1946 · Cartoon Based on the pamphlet: The races of mankind / by Ruth Benedict and Gene Weltfish Animation, Robert Cannon, Ken Harris, Ben Washam ; music, Paul Smith An… Internet Archive Photosynthesis 1981 · Educational VHS Produced by the BBC for the British Open University Investigates the adaptations found in different plants for the carbon-fixing step of photosynthesis… Internet Archive Points of View 1959 · Educational Produced by NET Ansel Adams explains his "point of view" and demonstrates by photographing many perspectives of an old house and its inhabitants. From the… Internet Archive Story Of Copper 1951 · Film Tells the story of the mining and manufacture of copper from the crude ore to the finished product. lots of footage of giant machines, some blasting. This… Internet Archive Chillysmith Farm 1981 · Educational · 28 min Title from data sheet Intended audience: General Over a period of ten years a family experiences the death of two grandparents and the birth of a child. Old… Internet Archive Rise and Decline of the Roman Empire 1980 · Educational Revised version of the 1959 motion pictures entitled Rise of the Roman Empire, and Decline of the Roman Empire Intended audience: Intermediate, junior and… Internet Archive Civilisation: 7 -- Grandeur and Obedience 1969 · Educational -----Another issue. 35 mm Writer and narrator, Kenneth Clark Surveys the development of western civilization in the 17th century as evidenced especially in… Internet Archive DOPE 373 2003 · Film · Subtitles Go to War in Iraq, The Marijuanalogues See scans of liner notes for detailed content. Internet Archive Dogpatch Then And Now January 24 2018 2018 · Film Few San Francisco neighborhoods have gone through as dramatic a change as Dogpatch. East of Potrero Hill, once an industrial neighborhood making warships,… Internet Archive Wonder Of Grasshoppers, The 1959 · Film Demonstrates to two boys the jumping ability of a grasshopper. The boys learn the basic physical structure of all insects by examining many kinds of…