The world's archives

1–48 of 1,729 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 The Great Train Robbery 1903 · Short · 12 min · Subtitles Filmed in November 1903 at Edison's New York studio, at Essex County Park in New Jersey, and along the Lackawanna railroad and released in December 1903, "The… Internet Archive [Trip Down Market Street Before the Fire, A] 1906 · Short · 13 min · Subtitles PLEASE NOTE: A much higher-quality DV version (2.3 GB) now available at http://www.archive.org/details/TripDownMarketStreetrBeforeTheFire Pictures San… Internet Archive Le Monstre 1903 · Short · 2 min An Egyptian prince has lost his beloved wife and he has sought a dervish who dwells at the base of the sphinx. The prince promises him a vast fortune if the… Internet Archive The Story of the Kelly Gang 1906 · Short · 20 min · Subtitles An attempt to create a coherent narrative out of all surviving fragments of Australia's first feature length film. Sections from the final reel are heavily… Internet Archive The Story of the Kelly Gang 1906 · Short · 3 min · Subtitles Some surviving fragments of the world's first feature length narrative film. Heavily decomposed What the posters said: "A thrilling moving picture from start… Internet Archive Jugendspiele AKA Games of Youth 1906 · Feature Internet Archive "2 A.M. in the Subway" (1905) cinematographer Billy Bitzer 1905 · Feature This gem is presented by Silent Hall of Fame. Please visit https://silent-hall-of-fame.org/ to support our non-profit mission and the legacy of silent movie… Internet Archive Le Chaudron Infernal 1903 · Short · 1 min The Infernal Boiling Pot (Le Chaudron Infernal) is a 1903 silent French fantasy film directed by Georges Méliès. The film shows a green-skinned demon who… Internet Archive Le Petit Poucet 1909 · Short · 2 min The story of Tom Thumb, re-released in the US as a split reel along with the documentary The Hermit Crab in 1922. Country: France Language: French Release… Internet Archive El Hotel Eléctrico 1908 · Short · 9 min The Electric Hotel starring Segundo de Chomón and Julienne Mathieu http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0000516/ Internet Archive Trip Down Market Street Before the Fire, A (DV25 version) 1906 · Film DV25 version (editable quality) of the famous film. Feel free to reedit/recombine/remix. Please consider uploading your derivative works to Internet Archive.… Internet Archive L'écrin du Raja 1906 · Short · 6 min The Rajah's Casket A lush moorish or turkic-inspired set design & gorgeous costumes makes The Rajah's Casket a visual thrill. Sundry characters gather before… Internet Archive [San Francisco Earthquake Aftermath, Part 3 1906 · Short · 7 min · Subtitles Chilling post-earthquake footage, shot in the Western Addition and on Market Street in San Francisco. The first sequence (Western Addition) shows a great deal… Internet Archive Le Voleur Invisible 1909 · Short · 7 min How do you deal with an invisible thief? ORIGINAL TITLE Le voleur invisible YEAR 1909 DIRECTOR Segundo de Chomón SCREENWRITER Segundo de Chomón… Internet Archive Le Cake-Walk Infernal 1903 · Short · 4 min Pluto, having seen the earth, comes back home amazed at the success of that well-known dance, the "cake-walk." He has brought back with him two noted… Internet Archive Baden verboten AKA Bathing Forbidden 1906 · Feature Internet Archive Schleiertanz AKA The Veil Dance 1906 · Feature Internet Archive San Francisco Earthquake Aftermath, Part 1 1906 · Film · Subtitles Scenes of displaced people and damaged buildings in San Francisco after the 1906 earthquake and fire. Original film is in need of repair, jumps and rolls out… Internet Archive The Wandering Jew 1905 · Short · 2 min The original French title is Le juif errant . IMDb Page Internet Archive L'étang Enchanté 1907 · Short · 1 min Sadly, only a fragment of this film seems to have survived. Fortunately, we are here to view it. I don't know about you but watching this made me want to go… Internet Archive "A Frontier Flirtation" (1903) cinematographer Billy Bitzer 1903 · Feature This gem is presented by Silent Hall of Fame. Please visit https://silent-hall-of-fame.org/ to support our non-profit mission and the legacy of silent movie… Internet Archive La Flamme Merveilleuse 1903 · Short · 2 min A juggler enters upon the scene, picks up a skull, throws it into the air, catches it in his hands, where it is transformed into a handkerchief. The… Internet Archive "A Calamitous Elopement" (1908) director D. W. Griffith 1908 · Feature This gem is presented by Silent Hall of Fame. Please visit https://silent-hall-of-fame.org/ to support our non-profit mission and the legacy of silent movie… Internet Archive Weibliche Assentierung AKA Female Conscripts 1908 · Feature Internet Archive "A Midsummer Night's Dream" (1909) starring Florence Turner 1909 · Feature This gem is presented by Silent Hall of Fame. Please visit https://silent-hall-of-fame.org/ to support our non-profit mission and the legacy of silent movie… Internet Archive Les Roses Magique 1906 · Short · 3 min Les Roses Magique (The Magic Roses) 1906 by Segundo de Chomón Pathé Frères Film Catalogue no. 1560 Internet Archive Loie Fuller 1902 · Short · 1 min Loie Fuller, American dancer and theatre innovator known as the 'Butterfly Girl' and inventing the 'Serpentine Dance', often performed at Folies Bergère and… Internet Archive L'alchimiste Parafaragaramus ou la Cornue Infernale [tinted] 1906 · Short · 2 min A wizard sleeps at a table in his well-appointed sitting room. From a drawer in the table, a snake appears. The snake begins a series of transformations: he… Internet Archive Der Traum der Bildhauers AKA The Sculptors Dream 1906 · Feature Internet Archive Das eitle Stubenmdchen AKA The Vain Housemaid 1908 · Feature Internet Archive Le Dirigeable Fantastique ou le Cauchemar d'un Inventeur 1905 · Short · 2 min "The Inventor Crazybrains and his Wonderful Airship" (Le Dirigeable Fantastique ou le Cauchemar d'un Inventeur) A Jules Verne-like flying airship soars the… Internet Archive The Martyred Presidents - Lincoln, Garfield, McKinley 1901 · Short · 1 min From an Edison film company catalog: "The scene opens with a beautiful woman who represents Columbia seated at the altar of Justice. As if from out of space… Internet Archive Eclipse de Soleil en Pleine Lune 1907 · Short · 9 min Director: Georges Méliès Stars: Georges Méliès An astronomer of age, wealth, and erudition conducts classes in his home. His students are not always… Internet Archive "Edgar Allan Poe" (1909) director D. W. Griffith, cinematographer Billy Bitzer 1909 · Feature This gem is presented by Silent Hall of Fame. Please visit https://silent-hall-of-fame.org/ to support our non-profit mission and the legacy of silent movie… Internet Archive Le Papillon Fantastique 1909 · Short · 1 min On exiting a strange cone a young girl deploys her butterfly wings. Mr Méliès is preparing for the show. In a puff of smoke, a star in the centre of which a… Internet Archive The Impossible Voyage 1904 · Short · 19 min The original French title is Voyage à travers l'impossible . IMDb Page Internet Archive L'Homme Orchestre 1900 · Short · 1 min L'Homme Orchestre, 1900, 1m21s Star Film Catalogue Nos. 262-263 In many ways a sequel to The Four Troublesome Heads (Un Homme de têtes, 1898), The One-Man… Internet Archive A Trip Down Market Street Before the Fire (4K scan, 2018-10-11) 1906 · Film This is a scan of 35mm material held by Prelinger Archives, San Francisco and thought to be an original 1906 print. It was scanned by Adrianne Finelli at… Internet Archive The Spider and the Butterfly 1909 · Short · 1 min The original French title for the print fragment is Le papillon fantastique . IMDb Page Internet Archive "Arrival of immigrants, Ellis Island" (1906) cinematographer Billy Bitzer 1906 · Feature This gem is presented by Silent Hall of Fame. Please visit https://silent-hall-of-fame.org/ to support our non-profit mission and the legacy of silent movie… Internet Archive A Trip Down Market Street Before the Fire (uncompressed HD version) 1906 · Film · Subtitles This is an uncompressed HD version of the famous film. Not all machines and players can successfully play this film. It is suggested that you determine… Internet Archive Deux Cent Milles Sous les Mers 1907 · Short · 9 min A man enters a sub and the submarine slowly descends as the crowd watches. Then, you see what is supposed to be an underwater scene. It's done using… Internet Archive Im Bade AKA In the Bath 1908 · Feature Internet Archive Les Aventures de Robinson Crusoé 1903 · Short · 1 min Sadly the only thing available are just a few fragments running just over a minute. Since there aren't any title cards it's going to be important for the… Internet Archive "Casting Scene" (1904) cinematographer Billy Bitzer 1904 · Feature This gem is presented by Silent Hall of Fame. Please visit https://silent-hall-of-fame.org/ to support our non-profit mission and the legacy of silent movie… Internet Archive Le Diable Noir 1905 · Short · 3 min The jump cut was the key element in early movie conjurer Georges Méliès bag of tricks, and as he grew more experienced in the production of films so his use… Internet Archive "Lines of White on a Sullen Sea" (1909) director D. W. Griffith 1909 · Feature This gem is presented by Silent Hall of Fame. Please visit https://silent-hall-of-fame.org/ to support our non-profit mission and the legacy of silent movie… Internet Archive "Lonely Villa" (1909) director D. W. Griffith 1909 · Feature This gem is presented by Silent Hall of Fame. Please visit https://silent-hall-of-fame.org/ to support our non-profit mission and the legacy of silent movie…