The world's archives

1,537–1,584 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 The Little Match Seller 1902 1902 · Short · 3 min · Low resolution A short silent film The Little Match Seller (1902). Commons Le baquet de Mesmer Georges Méliès 1905 1905 · Short · 3 min · Low resolution The original French title is Le baquet de Mesmer. No sound. Commons Girls taking time checks, Westinghouse works - 1904 · Short · 3 min Girls taking time checks, Westinghouse works / Commons Rector's to Claremont (1904) - yt 1904 · Short · 3 min Silent film by Edwin S. Porter Commons Monsieur Clown chez les Lilliputiens (1909) 1909 · Short · 4 min French silent short Commons Cuisine abracadabrante (1908) - yt 1908 · Short · 2 min 1908 silent trick film by Segundo de Chomón. Commons Tale the Autumn Leaves Told (1908) 1908 · Short · 1 min Tale the Autumn Leaves Told (1908) Commons The Whole Dam Family and the Dam Dog (1905) 1905 · Short · 1 min The Whole Dam Family and the Dam Dog (1905) Commons Александр Ширяев. Пьеро-художники 1907 · Cartoon · 5 min Pierrot-Artists Commons Les 400 farces du diable (1906) - yt 1906 · Short · 4 min Stencil coloured 1906 film by Georges Méliès Commons Le Ratelier (1909) 1909 · Short · 3 min · Low resolution Film by Emile Cohl. 1909 Commons L'Antre des esprits 1901 · Short · 2 min L'Antre des esprits laburmetraia osoa Commons Dog Factory (1904) 1904 · Short · 4 min · Low resolution Dogs go in, dogs go out. Better description at its Open Video Project page. Commons Avventura galante di un provinciale (1908) 1908 · Short · 3 min Italian silent comic short Commons The Impossible Convicts (1906) 1906 · Short · 2 min American silent short film. Commons Kansas Saloon Smashers (1901) Better picture quality 1901 · Short · 1 min Kansas Saloon Smashers Commons L'abeille et la rose (1908) 1908 · Short · 3 min · Low resolution Produced and directed by Segundo de Chomón Commons Sultan Abdul Hamid II Tour 1909 · Short · 3 min A short film showing Ottoman Sultan Abdul Hamid II moving with his procession. Commons Le faune (1908) - yt 1908 · Short · 4 min Silent film by Gaston Velle Commons Fire (1901) 1901 · Short · 4 min British silent short film Commons How the Office Boy Saw the Ball Game (1906) 1906 · Short · 5 min How the Office Boy Saw the Ball Game (1906) Commons Turning the Tables (1903) 1903 · Short · 1 min Turning the Tables (1903) Commons Coney Island at Night (1905) 1905 · Short · 3 min Coney Island at Night (1905) Commons The First State Opening of Parliament by King Edward VII 1901 · Short · 1 min · Low resolution The First State Opening of Parliament by King Edward VII Commons Les glaces merveilleuses (1907) 1907 · Short · 6 min · Low resolution Producer: Segundo de Chomón Audio/Visual: sound, color Commons Excursion dans la lune (1908) 1908 · Short · 6 min · Low resolution Produced and directed by Segundo de Chomón Commons Le reve des marmitons (1908) 1908 · Short · 6 min · Low resolution Produced and directed by Segundo de Chomón Commons Edgar Allan Poe (film, 1909) 1909 · Short · 7 min Silent American short film Commons Balked at the Altar (1908) 1908 · Short · 9 min · Low resolution American silent short comedy film. Commons La presa di Roma (1905) 1905 · Short · 6 min Fragment of a silent Italian film Commons Le Phénix ou le Coffret de cristal (1905) excerpt 1905 · Short · 1 min Fragment of The Crystal Casket Commons L'aspirateur (1908) 1908 · Short · 3 min L'aspirateur (1908) Commons Metempsycose (1907) 1907 · Short · 3 min French silent film. Commons AliBabaAndTheFortyThieves1902SilentFilmhandColored-yyqecqksebu 1902 · Short · 8 min · Low resolution Old film on Archive.org Commons APanickyPicnic1909CamilleDeMorlhon-bnnq1hkdtme 1909 · Short · 8 min · Low resolution Old film on Archive.org Commons Police Chasing Scorching Auto (1906) 1906 · Short · 2 min Police Chasing Scorching Auto (1906) Commons The Great Train Robbery (1903) - yt 1903 · Short · 11 min Silent film by Edwin S. Porter. Commons The Golden Louis 1909 · Short · 6 min American silent short film Commons The Thieving Hand 1908 · Short · 6 min American silent short film Commons Symphonie Bizarre (1909) 1909 · Short · 4 min French silent short film Commons Silent film A Drunkard's Reformation (1909) 1909 · Short · 9 min · Low resolution Copy of silent film A Drunkard's Reformation, from 1909 Commons The Zulu's Heart (1908) 1908 · Short · 8 min The Zulu's Heart (1908) Commons Is Spiritualism a Fraud? (1906) 1906 · Short · 7 min British short silent film produced by Robert W. Paul Commons Money Mad (1908) 1908 · Short · 8 min American silent short crime film. Commons A Strange Meeting (1909) 1909 · Short · 12 min · Low resolution American short silent drama film. Commons Alice in Wonderland (1903) - yt 1903 · Short · 8 min 1903 silent film Commons Rip Van Winkle (1903), Clearer Picture Quality 1903 · Short · 4 min Rip Van Winkle (1903) Commons El Hotel Electrico (1905) 1905 · Short · 9 min · Low resolution Producer: Segundo de Chomón Production Company: S.C.A.G.L.