The world's archives

49–96 of 1,669 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 "Children in the Surf, Coney Island" (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 Les Affiches en Goguette 1906 · Short · 3 min Move over, Mad Men, THIS is how you run an advertising campaign - An entire wall of posters comes to life! Director: Georges Méliès Stars: Georges Méliès… Internet Archive "A Strange Meeting" (1909) director D. W. Griffith starring Arthur V. Johnson 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 Baquet de Mesme 1905 · Short · 3 min "A Mesmerian Experiment" was originally titled "Le Baquet de Mesmer" in French and it's another short from Georges Méliès. However, despite the title, it… Internet Archive Le Sorcier Arabe 1906 · Short · 2 min A sorcerer draws signs on the sand making charming young women. Director: Segundo de Chomón Writer: Segundo de Chomón Country: France Language: French Release… Internet Archive "Panorama View, Street Car Motor Room" (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 "A Drunkard's Reformation" (1909) director D. W. Griffith starring Arthur V. Johnson 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 Juif Errant 1904 · Short · 2 min It is interesting that the Catholic -- but pro-Dreyfus -- Méliès would make this allegorical film about a symbolic Jew, played by Méliès himself, wandering… Internet Archive "The Awakening" (1909) director D. W. Griffith starring Arthur V. Johnson 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 "Assembling A Generator" (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 "Automobile Race for the Vanderbilt Cup" (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 "The Lure of the Gown" (1909) director D. W. Griffith starring Florence Lawrence 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 "Those Awful Hats" (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 La Grenouille 1901 · Short · 3 min That's a very big frog! Internet Archive "The Way Of Man" (1909) starring Arthur V. Johnson and Florence Lawrence 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 "Automobiling Among The Clouds" (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 Sculpteur Express 1907 · Short · 4 min A sculptor and his assistant quickly make a creation. Director: Segundo de Chomón Stars: Julienne Mathieu Country: France Language: French Release Date: 3… Internet Archive "Testing A Rotary" (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 "Crossroads of Life" (1908) 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 La Sirène 1904 · Short · 3 min A man in a silk top hat stands in front of an empty aquarium. He pours water into his hat and goes fishing, hooking a small one. He becomes a hobo and catches… Internet Archive "At the Altar" (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 "Betrayed By A Handprint" (1908) director D.W. Griffith starring Florence Lawrence 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 "The Country Doctor" (1909) starring Florence Lawrence 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 Great Train Robbery, The 1903 · Film · Subtitles 05:41:38 Man in office - two gunmen burst in to rob him 05:45:32 Gunmen stop train - everyone gets off with hands off 05:47:14 Robbers run to detached… Internet Archive A Trip to Jupiter (1909) 1909 · Feature The King and his official astronomer are alone in the study viewing the heavenly bodies through the monstrous telescope. They go out on the balcony and the… Internet Archive San Francisco Earthquake Aftermath, Part 2 1906 · Short · 1 min · Subtitles Views of destruction taken from a vehicle moving east down Market Street. Internet Archive Les Oeufs de Paques 1907 · Short · 3 min Easter Eggs by Segundo de Chomón Internet Archive [Edison Newsreels: San Francisco Earthquake aftermath] 1906 · Newsreel · 4 min · Subtitles Cleaning up downtown San Francisco after the conflagration. Internet Archive Les Tulipes 1907 · Short · 3 min The creation of tulips is a delicate and magical thing... Director: Segundo de Chomón Writer: Segundo de Chomón Cinematographer: Segundo de Chomón Country:… Internet Archive La Belle Au Bois Dormant 1908 · Short · 11 min "Sleeping Beauty" 1908 Segundo de Chomón La Belle Au Bois Dormant - Sleeping Beauty Directors: Albert Capellani, Lucien Nonguet Writer: Charles Perrault… Internet Archive Les Kiriki Acrobates Japonais 1907 · Short · 2 min Les Kiriki Japanese Acrobats by Segundo de Chomón Internet Archive Les Lunatiques 1908 · Short · 3 min The Lunatics 1908 by Segundo de Chomón Internet Archive Robinson Crusoe 1902 · Short · 1 min The original French title for the print fragment is Les aventures de Robinson Crusoé . IMDb Page Internet Archive L'Artiste et le Mannequin 1903 · Short · 1 min Star Film Catalogue No. 284 L'Artiste et le Mannequin (The Artist and the Dummy) Director: Georges Méliès Writer: Georges Méliès Country: France Release Date:… Internet Archive Sklavenmarkt AKA The Slave Market 1906 · Feature Internet Archive L'homme Mouche 1903 · Short · 1 min Long before Fred Astaire or Lionel Richie danced on the ceiling, there was Georges Méliès as "The Human Fly" in L'homme Mouche. 'Nuff said. L'homme Mouche,… Internet Archive The Inventor Crazybrains and his Wonderful Airship 1905 · Short · 2 min The original French title is Le dirigeable fantastique ou le cauchemar d’un inventeur . Internet Archive Magic Bricks 1908 · Short · 3 min A conjurer in Chinese garb jumps out of a box that's about two feet wide and six inches high. He conjures an assistant from the same box plus a young woman,… Internet Archive Le Piano Irrésistible 1907 · Short · 4 min Director: Alice Guy Country: France Also known as: The Irresistible Piano (USA) Production Co: Société des Etablissements L. Gaumont Genres: Short A guy is… Internet Archive Symphonie Bizarre 1909 · Short NOTE: Only a fragment of this film survives. Here is what remains. By the time this short subject came out, Segundo de Chomón had bested Georges Melies at his… Internet Archive Le Merveilleux Eventail Vivant 1904 · Short · 3 min The king of France receives a marvelous fan. The fan opens to reveal plain lace. This lace becomes pictures of women which then come to life an move in unison… Internet Archive L'oeuf du Sorcier 1903 · Short · 1 min A human skeleton is placed upon a table by an attendant. When the attendant leaves the room the skeleton begins kicking his legs and throwing his arms about… Internet Archive Under the Seas 1907 · Short · 9 min The original French title is Deux cent milles sous les mers ou le cauchemar du pêcheur . Internet Archive Les Papillons Japonais 1908 · Short · 4 min Japanese Butterflies by Segundo de Chomón Internet Archive Sklavenraub AKA The Abduction of the Slave Women 1906 · Feature Internet Archive "A Kentucky Feud" (1905) 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 Magic Roses 1906 · Short · 3 min The original French title is Les roses magiques IMDb Page Internet Archive L'Araignée D'or 1909 · Short 1909 Segundo de Chomón L'Araignée D'or The Gold Spider by Segundo de Chomón "L'Araignée d'or" (The Golden Spider 1909) is an excellent short film that tells a…