The world's archives

289–336 of 1,846 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 Every Man His Own Cigar Lighter 1903 · Short The original French title for the print fragment is Un peu de feu s.v.p. IMDb Page Internet Archive L'insaisissable Pickpocket 1908 · Short 1908 Segundo de Chomón L'insaisissable Pickpocket Internet Archive Le Charmeur 1906 · Short · 4 min Very charming indeed. Internet Archive Fugitive Apparitions 1905 · Short · 1 min The original French title is Les apparitions fugitives . IMDb Page Internet Archive Nipper Runs Amok! (1900) 1900 · Feature Nipper runs amok!(1900) Nipper (1884 – September 1895), also known as the RCA Victor dog, was a dog from Bristol, England. Bred as a terrier mix, he served as… Internet Archive Les Glasses Merveilleuses 1907 · Short · 6 min The Wonderful Glasses Internet Archive Eccentric Dance (1902) Directed By Alice Guy Blaché 1902 · Feature Eccentric Dance (1902) Directed by Alice Guy-Blaché 'Danse excentrique' Director: Alice Guy-Blaché Lina Esbrard performs a serpentine dance in a skirt… Internet Archive The beautiful Hawaiian islands in 1906 in color! [AI enhanced & colorized] 1906 · Feature This film shows the beauty of Hawaii over 116 years ago! This is a compilation of vintage film footage by the Thomas Edison film company in 1906. Among other… Internet Archive Village life in beautiful Tiruchirappalli (Trichy), Southern India in 1900 (AI enhanced & colorized) 1900 · Feature Tiruchirappalli, also called Tiruchi or Trichy, is a major tier II city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and the administrative headquarters of… Internet Archive El Hotel Electrico (The Electric Hotel) 1908 · Short · 9 min A 1908 silent Spanish comedy film fantasy directed by Spanish film pioneer Segundo de Chomon. The film displays early use of stop motion animation. A man and… Internet Archive Up To Date Spiritualism (1900) Directed By Georges Méliès 1900 · Feature Up-to-Date Spiritualism (1900) 'Spiritisme abracadabrant' Director: Georges Méliès Internet Archive Ali Baba And The Forty Thieves (1902) Directed By Ferdinand Zecca 1902 · Feature Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves (1902) 'Ali Baba et les quarante voleurs' Director: Ferdinand Zecca Ali Baba et les quarante voleurs (English: Ali Baba and the… Internet Archive Ben Hur 1907 · Feature Internet Archive La Leçon de Musique 1909 · Short 1909 Segundo de Chomón La Leçon de Musique (The Music Lesson) Internet Archive Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves 1902 · Feature Internet Archive L'abeille et la Rose 1908 · Short 1908 Segundo de Chomón L'abeille et la Rose (Bee and Rose) Internet Archive [San Francisco Earthquake: Ruined Buildings] 1906 · Film · Subtitles San Francisco earthquake, 1906: Short pan of ruined buildings. Earthquake-Falling Buildings Internet Archive An incredible time travel trip back to the Paris Expo (World Fair) in 1900 V 1 [ 1080p AI P 3] ( 1900) 1900 · Feature Take a time travel trip back to Paris in 1900 and visit the Exposition Universelle, the famous 1900 World Fair! Over 100 photographs of this Expo have been… Internet Archive The Untamable Whiskers 1904 · Short · 2 min The original French title is Le Roi du maquillage . IMDb Page Internet Archive The Prolific Magical Egg 1902 · Short · 1 min The original French title is l’oeuf du sorcier . IMDb Page Internet Archive Little Tich Big Boot Dance (1900) Directed By Clément Maurice 1900 · Feature Little Tich Big-Boot Dance 'Little Tich et ses Big Boots' Director: Clément Maurice Harry Relph (21 July 1867 – 10 February 1928),[1] professionally known as… Internet Archive The Wizard, The Prince And The Good Fairy (1900) Directed By Georges Méliès 1900 · Feature The Wizard, the Prince and the Good Fairy (1900) 'Le sorcier, le prince et le bon génie' Director: Georges Méliès A prince gets the help of a fairy to aid in… Internet Archive The King and the Jester 1907 · Short · 4 min The original French title is François 1er et Triboulet . IMDb Page Internet Archive The Triple Conjurer and the Living Head (1900) Directed by Georges Méliès 1900 · Feature L'Illusioniste double et la Tête vivant (1900) Directed by Georges Méliès A conjurer (along with two duplicates) conjure up (and then cause to vanish) a… Internet Archive Solar Eclipse (1900) Directed By Nevil Maskelyne 1900 · Feature Solar Eclipse (1900) Director: Nevil Maskelyne The magic of a real solar eclipse filmed on 28 May, 1900 by a famous magician, Nevil Maskelyne, while on an… Internet Archive La fe aux choux, ou la naissance des enfants AKA The Cabbage-Patch Fairy 1900 · Feature Internet Archive 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea 1907 · Feature Internet Archive How Bridget's Lover Escaped 1907 · Short · 8 min The original French title is Le mariage de Victorine . IMDb Page Internet Archive Le Bailleur 1907 · Short · 4 min Le Bailleur by Segundo de Chomón in 1907 Internet Archive How It Feels To Be Run Over (1900) Directed By Cecil M Hepworth 1900 · Feature How It Feels to Be Run Over (1900) director: Cecil M. Hepworth How It Feels to Be Run Over is a one-minute British silent trick film, made in 1900, and… Internet Archive Miss Lina Esbrard, danseuse cosmopolitaine et serpentine AKA Serpentine Dance 1902 · Feature Internet Archive Good Glue Sticks 1907 · Short · 5 min The original French title is La Colle universelle . IMDb Page Internet Archive La Pied du Mouton 1907 · Short · 12 min The Foot of the Sheep Internet Archive The Enchanted Sedan Chair 1905 · Short · 3 min The original French title is La Chaise à porteurs enchantée . IMDb Page Internet Archive Plongeur Fantastique 1905 · Short · 1 min Diver Fantasy Internet Archive Scrooge, Or, Marley's Ghost (1901) Directed By Walter R. Booth 1901 · Feature Scrooge, or, Marley's Ghost (1901) Director: Walter R. Booth Scrooge, or, Marley's Ghost is a 1901 British silent trick film directed by Walter R. Booth,… Internet Archive Over the Hedge 1905 · Feature Internet Archive The Great Train Robbery 1903 · Feature Internet Archive L'Antre de la Sorcieré 1906 · Short · 5 min The Lair of the Sorceress Internet Archive The Man With The Rubber Head ( 1901) Directed By Georges Méliès 1901 · Feature The Man with the Rubber Head (1901) 'L'Homme à la tête en caoutchouc' Director: Georges Méliès he Man with the Rubber Head (French: L'Homme à la tête en… Internet Archive Tram Journey Through Southampton (1900) Directed By William K. L. Dickson 1900 · Feature Tram Journey through Southampton (1900) Director: William K.L. Dickson A moving tour through lively turn-of-the-century Southampton. Internet Archive Gulliver's Travels Among the Lilliputians and the Giants (1902) Directed by Georges Méliès 1902 · Feature Gulliver's Travels Among the Lilliputians and the Giants (1902) 'Le voyage de Gulliver à Lilliput et chez les géants' Director: Georges Méliès Le Voyage de… Internet Archive What Happened On Twenty Third Street, New York City (1901) 1901 · Feature What Happened on Twenty-third Street, New York City (1901) Director: Edwin S. Porter, George S. Fleming What Happened on Twenty-third Street, New York City is… Internet Archive A Quick Shave And Brush Up (1900) Directed By George Albert Smith 1900 · Feature A Quick Shave And Brush Up (1900) Director: George Albert Smith A man attempts to shave with a blunt razor. Internet Archive The Big Swallow (1901) Directed By James Williamson 1901 · Feature The Big Swallow (1901) Director: James Williamson The Big Swallow (AKA: A Photographic Contortion) is a 1901 British silent comic trick film, directed by… Internet Archive Grandma’s Reading Glass ( 1900) Directed By George Albert Smith 1900 · Feature Grandma’s Reading Glass (1900) Director: George Albert Smith Grandma's Reading Glass is a 1900 British silent trick film, directed by George Albert Smith,… Internet Archive Two Laughing Men (1900) Directed By Walter Gibbons 1900 · Feature Two Laughing Men (1900) Director: Walter Gibbons Two men laugh uncontrollably at the sight of a picture. They laugh so hard that they fall down. Internet Archive Life of an American Fireman 1903 · Feature