Ephemeral films

3,505–3,552 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 Funny Company - Chocolate 1963 · Film Part of the animated series "Funny Company", this film explores how chocolate is made. We digitized and uploaded this film from the A/V Geeks Archives. Email… Internet Archive Computers: The Friendly Invasion 1982 · Educational Corridi's defense against the charge of having introduced the guillotine into Tuscany Mode of access: Internet Internet Archive Hailstones and Halibut Bones: Part 2 1967 · Educational Producer, John Wilson Presents five poems from Hailstones and halibut bones, by Mary O'Neill, which show how a writer uses colors--blue, grey, orange,… Internet Archive Passion 1970 · Educational Director, writer, and artist, Jiri Trnka An animated film about a boy who grows into a man with a passion for speed, always trying to speed up his toys and… Internet Archive We Are the Guinea Pigs 1980 · Educational Farmers and parents of young children, who live in the Harrisburg, Pa. area, discuss their fears of radioactive contamination from the Three Mile Island… Internet Archive SPACE SHUTTLE CHALLENGER DISASTER JANUARY 28, 1986 RAW FOOTAGE (SILENT) XD10604 Film Raw footage of the loss of the Space Shuttle Challenger (silent film footage). On January 28, 1986, the NASA Space Shuttle orbiter undertaking mission… Internet Archive Target - Invisible (Radar) 1945 · Film The picture that takes the wraps off the most hush-hush secret of the war, revealing the role of radar. Features a picture epic of an actual flight over… Internet Archive Dr. Ernest Jones 1958 · Educational Interview of the Dean of English, American psychoanalyist and close friend of Sigmund Freud. In the library of the New York Psychoanalytic Society and… Internet Archive NASA CONNECT: Patterns, Functions, and Algebra: Wired for Space 2000 · Film In Patterns, Functions and Algebra: Wired for Space, students will learn how patterns, functions and algebra can help NASA engineers design new ways of… Internet Archive Soviet Challenge 1962 · Educational Utilizes footage from official Soviet motion pictures With teacher's guide Surveys two phases of the industrial revolution in Russia from 1917 to date--the… Internet Archive Keeping Clean And Neat 1956 · Film Children in an eighth grade learn the value of making a good appearance. Illustrates practical step-by-step routines for personal grooming and care of… Internet Archive Voting Procedures 1955 · Film Describes the qualifications and procedures of registration and voting. Distinguishes between 'SPLIT TICKET' and 'STRAIGHT TICKET' voting methods. Explains… Internet Archive Mental Retardation 1967 · Educational · 29 min Survey of the research, treatment, and types of mentally retarded and physically handicapped children. Emphasizes the importance of early recognition of… Internet Archive Alexeieff at the Pinboard 1972 · Cartoon Previously released under the title Zhivago Alexandre Alexeieff and wife Claire Parker demonstrate and comment on animation techniques used to create… Internet Archive Human heredity 1969 · Educational · 19 min Describes the mechanism whereby human characteristics are passed from generation to generation. Explains and illustrates the function of chromosomes, genes,… Internet Archive Crossroads USA 1952 · Film This is a shortened version odd little morality play about the opportunities of oil as told in a gas station that's about to be robbed. A story of individual… Internet Archive Civilisation: 6 -- Protest and Communication 1969 · Educational -----Another issue. 35 mm Writer and narrator, Kenneth Clark Surveys the development of western civilization in the 16th century in the North as evidenced… Internet Archive Illustrations of Childhood Autism 1969 · Educational Author, H. Lowenstein A documentary film for medical students, student nurses and for advanced classes in psychology, showing the behavior of autistic… Internet Archive Building better paragraphs 1953 · Film The members of a sixth grade class, who are writing a story for the school paper, learn to construct a good paragraph by composing a topic sentence, by… Internet Archive Franco: Caudillo of Spain 1978 · Educational Title from data sheet Narrator, Henry Fonda A foreign film (Canada) Originally shown in Canada on the television program: Portraits of power Intended… Internet Archive The Mime 1966 · Educational · 26 min Tony Montanaro, performer and teacher, discusses the art of miming and its complexities. He explains the training necessary for proficiency and presents his… Internet Archive Verbal Communication: The Power of Words 1981 · Educational Title from data sheet Intended audience: Senior high school students through adults Issued also as videorecording Uses animation, humorous vignettes, and… Internet Archive Camarena Story: Tape 1 of 2 1990 · Film · Subtitles See scans of liner notes for detailed content. Internet Archive Great American Chocolate Factory, The Film Covers the chocolate story from harvesting cocoa beans in the tropics to wrapping the finished product in Hershey, Pennsylvania. Looks to be made in the late… Internet Archive Dropout, The 1962 · Film Depicts various factors that stimulate teenagers to drop out of school, using several case histories for illustration. Lists various reasons for dropping out,… Internet Archive Age of Uncertainty: 10 -- Land and the People 1977 · Educational · 57 min "A personal view by John Kenneth Galbraith." Colour recording system: PAL VHS Summary: Focuses on the role of land in determining wealth and poverty and… Internet Archive Ticket Through The Sound Barrier 1966 · Film Explores the Supersonic Transport (SST) Development Program. Shows a personal inspection trip of contending configurations and examines each. Includes a ride… Internet Archive Minister of Hate 1960 · Educational Telecast on the CBS - TV documentary show The twentieth century Narrator, Walter Cronkite Discusses the life of Joseph Goebbels, showing how he used… Internet Archive Telling an Old Story 1985 · Educational · 27 min · Subtitles As she starts out to write a story about an eighty-seven-year-old social services center director and ends up writing about a nineteen-year-old boxer.… Internet Archive Romertopf Recipes 1998 · Film "Instructional video with recipes celebrating Romertopf's 30th anniversary"-- description from box. Internet Archive First Steps (1976) 1976 · Educational · 24 min Discusses the importance of early stimulation and training for educable retarded children. Explores the rationale of integrating them into regular school… Internet Archive Russian consumer. 1968 · Educational · 13 min · Subtitles Fifty years of Communist rule in the Soviet Union shows that much progress has been made in recent years to furnishing better consumer goods to the Russian… Internet Archive Mini Reformer Full Body Workout 1994 · Educational "Based on resistance control, this unique machine uses bungee cords to give the muscles intelligence... this 35 minute follow-along beginning workout video… Internet Archive A Better Chicago 1937 1937 · Film On WPA projects in Chicago. Sewer pipe is laid. Debris is cleared from the lake front. Animal skeletons are reconstructed in the Field Museum. Airport runways… Internet Archive Dairy Queen Dreams (from Drive-In Movie Ads) Commercial · 1 min Category: Drive-In Movie Ads Title: Dairy Queen Dreams (from Drive-In Movie Ads) Length- 1:08 Sound: Yes (enhanced) Black and White Description: B&W Dairy… Internet Archive Drive-in: Feature Presentation- Red curtain-Searchlights Film runs les than 10 seconds. suggestion: insert clip directly before first feature when creating drive-in dvd Internet Archive Dream of the Wild Horses 1960 · Educational Majestic wild herds of the Camargue portrayed with fluid slow-motion and soft-focus camera. Dream-like imagery enhanced by original score of Jacques Lapy.… Internet Archive Working Safely in the Shop 1953 · Film Explains the importance of safe working conditions. Describes how to arrange equipment and how to safely operate such tools as the grinder, circular and hand… Internet Archive Eugene Atget 1964 · Educational · 8 min Uses still photographs of Paris made by Eugène Atget at the turn of the century in presenting a visual tour of Paris of that period, set against the music of… Internet Archive Rips and Rushes 1917 · Film Comedy set in a dance studio in which three rivals vie for the girl. Preserved in collaboration with the New Zealand Film Archive and the Library of Congress. Internet Archive How Babies Learn (1966) 1966 · Educational · 33 min Shows some important developmental advances during the first year of life. Stresses that learning is influenced by interpersonal environment, particularly the… Internet Archive Building A Deep Map February 7 2018 2018 · Film Celebrating the release of a new map of San Francisco, "Nature in the City" reflects a rich and fairly recent understanding of what comprises a place. An… Internet Archive The Cactus: Adaptations for Survival 1973 · Educational With teacher's guide Producer, Ed Harris; collaborator, Charles Ackerman Laboratory experiments are employed to demonstrate the unique physical… Internet Archive The Sun: Its Power and Promise 1976 · Educational Examines the Sun's role in the creation of familiar energy sources such as food, wind, petroleum, coal, and natural gas. Evaluates the potential of… Internet Archive The Blood 1961 1961 · Film Summarizes the function of the blood in supporting the work of other cells, pictures how it circulates through the body, and breaks it down into its component… Internet Archive The Adams Chronicles: 13 -- Charles Francis Adams II, Industrialist 1976 · Educational · 1 h Title from data sheet Prepared in conjunction with Jack Shepherd's book entitled The Adams chronicles Also issued as videorecording Details Charles Francis… Internet Archive A Third Testament: Augustine (354-430) 1974 · Educational · 57 min French version released in 1974 under the same title Producers, Pat Ferns, Richard Nielsen; director, Jeremy Murray-Brown; writer and narrator, Malcolm… Internet Archive Men and Machines 1936 · Film Dramatized documentary supporting workplace mechanization. Men and Machines argues that the introduction of labor-saving machines results in cost savings and…