The world's archives

1,489–1,536 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.
Commons Le Tambourin fantastique (1907) 1907 · Short · 5 min The Knight of Black Art Commons Amour et mélasse (1908) 1908 · Short · 4 min His First Job Commons Pippa Passes (1909) 1909 · Short · 14 min Pippa Passe Commons Jeanne d'Arc (1900) 1900 · Short · 10 min French hand-coloured silent film Commons L'hôtel du silence (1908) 1908 · Short · 11 min French silent short. Commons La légende du fantôme (1908) 1908 · Short · 9 min French silent short. Commons La Belle au bois dormant (1908) 1908 · Short · 14 min French silent short. Commons Cendrillon ou la pantoufle merveilleuse (1907) 1907 · Short · 15 min French silent short. Commons La Légende de Rip Van Winckle (1905) 1905 · Short · 14 min French hand-coloured silent film Commons Le Royaume des fées (1903) 1903 · Short · 16 min French hand-coloured silent film. Commons Le Petit Poucet (1909) 1909 · Short · 10 min French silent short. Commons Voyage sur Jupiter (1909) 1909 · Short · 8 min French silent trick film. Commons Une Excursion incohérente (1909) 1909 · Short · 8 min Silent French short. Commons Illusions funambulesques (1903) 1903 · Short · 2 min Silent trick film Commons Le Palais des mille et une nuits (1905) 1905 · Short · 20 min The Palace of the Arabian Nights Commons The Merry frolics of Satan (1906) 1906 · Short · 19 min Silent hand-colored [1] French short. Star Films catalog n° 849-870. Commons Voyage à travers l'impossible (1904) 1904 · Short · 20 min French hand-coloured silent film. Commons Krunisanje kralja Petra (1904) 1904 · Feature · 52 min Serbian movie - Krunisanje kralja Petra (1904) Commons Dixon-Wanamaker Expedition to Crow Agency, 1908 (clip) 1908 · Short · 1 min · Low resolution Dixon-Wanamaker Expedition to Crow Agency (clip) Commons Dixon-Wanamaker Expedition to Crow Agency, 1908 (clip) 2 1908 · Short · 1 min · Low resolution Dixon-Wanamaker Expedition to Crow Agency (clip) 2 Commons Loie Fuller (1901) 1901 · Short · 1 min · Low resolution Loie Fuller in a 1901 film. Commons Fantasmagorie1908FirstCartoonEver-swh448fld1g 1908 · Short · 1 min · Low resolution Old film on Archive.org Commons Attack on a China Mission (1900) 1900 · Short · 1 min British silent short film Commons L'Île de Calypso (1905) 1905 · Short · 3 min L'Île de Calypso : Ulysse et le géant Polyphème Commons The Big Swallow (1901) 1901 · Short · 1 min British silent film with close-up Commons En avant la musique (1907) fragment 1907 · Short · 1 min · Low resolution Produced and directed by Segundo de Chomón Commons The Haunted Curiosity Shop (1901) 1901 · Short · 1 min 1901 silent film directed by Walter R. Booth and produced by Robert W. Paul Commons What Happened on Twenty Third Street New York City (1901) - yt 1901 · Documentary · 1 min Silent film by Edwin S. Porter Commons A Pipe Dream (1905) 1905 · Short · 1 min American silent short. Commons Uncle Josh in a Spooky Hotel (1900) 1900 · Short · 1 min Uncle Josh in a Spooky Hotel (1900) Commons Le Miroir magique (1908) 1908 · Short · 2 min · Low resolution Directed by Segundo de Chomón and produced by Pathé Frères Commons The Waif and the Wizard (1901) 1901 · Short · 1 min Short British silent film produced by Robert Paul. Commons L'Avare (1908) 1908 · Short · 5 min Silent French short film (fragment). Commons Stop Thief (1901) 1901 · Short · 1 min British silent short film Commons La Valise secrète (1908) 1908 · Short · 1 min French silent short film (fragment) Commons ADreadfulNight1905SegundoDeChomn-zoalyhwws m 1905 · Short · 2 min · Low resolution Old film on Archive.org Commons A Funny Shave 1906 · Short · 2 min · Low resolution Old film on Archive.org Commons The '?' Motorist (1906) 1906 · Short · 2 min British short silent film produced by Robert W. Paul Commons Le troubadour (1906) 1906 · Short · 1 min French silent short film stencil coloured Commons Reception de S M Alphonse XIII a Barcelone (1904) 1904 · Short · 1 min French silent film. Commons Le livre magique (1900) 1900 · Short · 2 min Silent film by Georges Méliès Commons La valse à la mode (1908) 1908 · Short · 2 min Silent French short comedy film featuring Maurice Chevalier Commons Une Nuit épouvantable (1905) 1905 · Short · 2 min French silent short film. Commons La grenouille (1908) 1908 · Short · 3 min · Low resolution Producer: Segundo de Chomón Commons La fee des roches noires (1907) 1907 · Short · 2 min Directed by Segundo de Chomón Commons L'éventail animé (1909) 1909 · Cartoon · 4 min French silent short. Commons Fun in a Bakery Shop (1902) 1902 · Short · 1 min Fun in a Bakery Shop (1902) Commons La Fee Printemps (1902) 1902 · Short · 3 min · Low resolution La fée printemps