Documentary from the world's archives

1–48 of 6,799 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 Marvellous Melbourne 1910 · Short · 14 min · Subtitles Full Title: Marvellous Melbourne - Queen City of the South An early documentary film about the City of Melbourne, then the interim capital city of Australia.… Internet Archive The Corporation - Filmmakers Official Download Edition 2003 · Feature · 2 h 25 min The Corporation is a 2003 Canadian documentary film critical of the modern-day corporation, considering it as a class of person and evaluating its behaviour… Internet Archive Chelovek s kinoapparatom (Man With A Movie Camera) 1929 · Feature · 1 h 8 min Dziga Vertov's Man With A Movie Camera is considered one of the most innovative and influential films of the silent era. Startlingly modern, this film… Internet Archive Why We Fight: Prelude to War 1943 · Feature · 52 min · Subtitles Produced by the U.S. Army Special Service Division, and directed by Frank Capra "Why We Fight" is a seven part propaganda/documentary series that traces the… Internet Archive Zeitgeist: Addendum 2008 · Feature · 2 h 3 min The second film, Zeitgeist: Addendum, attempts to locate the root causes of pervasive social corruption, while offering a solution. This solution is not based… Internet Archive The Memphis Belle: A Story of a Flying Fortress 1944 · Short · Subtitles This film is a war documentary produced by one of the "Hollywood Colonels," William Wyler, who joined the Air Force Film unit and recorded the sights and… Internet Archive Why We Fight: War Comes to America 1943 · Feature · 1 h 5 min · Subtitles Produced by the U.S. Army Special Service Division, and directed by Frank Capra "Why We Fight" is a seven part propaganda/documentary series that traces the… Internet Archive Why We Fight: The Battle of China 1943 · Feature · 1 h 2 min · Subtitles Produced by the U.S. Army Special Service Division, and directed by Frank Capra "Why We Fight" is a seven part propaganda/documentary series that traces the… Internet Archive Louisiana Story 1948 · Feature · 1 h 18 min A young Cajun boy named Alexander Napolean Ulysses Latour (Joseph Boudreaux) spends his time on a Louisiana bayou. There he plays, fishes and hunts, worrying… Internet Archive The Battle Of Midway 1942 · Short · 18 min · Subtitles Academy Award winning documentary on the pivotal naval battle of the war in the Pacific. Filmed while the attack on Midway Island was underway, standout… Internet Archive Why We Fight: The Battle of Britain 1943 · Feature · 52 min · Subtitles Produced by the U.S. Army Special Service Division, and directed by Frank Capra "Why We Fight" is a seven part propaganda/documentary series that traces the… Internet Archive Why We Fight: Divide and Conquer 1943 · Feature · 56 min · Subtitles Produced by the U.S. Army Special Service Division, and directed by Frank Capra "Why We Fight" is a seven part propaganda/documentary series that traces the… Internet Archive Why We Fight: The Battle of Russia - Part 2 1943 · Feature · 46 min · Subtitles Produced by the U.S. Army Special Service Division, and directed by Frank Capra "Why We Fight" is a seven part propaganda/documentary series that traces the… Internet Archive Why We Fight: The Nazis Strike 1943 · Feature · 40 min · Subtitles Produced by the U.S. Army Special Service Division, and directed by Frank Capra "Why We Fight" is a seven part propaganda/documentary series that traces the… Internet Archive The American West of John Ford 1971 · Feature · 51 min A documentary encapsulating the career and Western films of director 'John Ford' , including clips from his work and interviews with his colleagues such as… Internet Archive War Comes to America 1945 · Feature · 1 h 2 min · Subtitles Part VII of the "Why We Fight" series of wartime documentaries. You can find more information regarding this film on its IMDb page . Internet Archive "Nanook of the North" [1922] Feature · 1 h 17 min · Subtitles Wikipedia... Nanook of the North (also known as Nanook of the North: A Story Of Life and Love In the Actual Arctic) is a 1922 silent documentary film by… Internet Archive The Nazi Plan 1945 · Feature · 2 h 7 min "The Nazi Plan" was shown as evidence at the International Military Tribunal (IMT) in Nuremberg on December 11, 1945. It was compiled by Budd Schulberg and… Internet Archive The World at War Feature · 1 h 6 min · Subtitles A feature-length government documentary on events leading up to and the first five months after the US entry into World War 2. Not to be confused with the… Internet Archive Why We Fight: The Battle of Russia - Part 1 1943 · Short · 35 min · Subtitles Produced by the U.S. Army Special Service Division, and directed by Frank Capra "Why We Fight" is a seven part propaganda/documentary series that traces the… Internet Archive The World at War (1973) - Thames Television 1973 · TV · 32 min The World At War (1973) Producer - Thames Television - Jeremy Isaacs Director - David Elstein Narrator - Laurence Olivier Composer - Carl Davis 1 Series - 26… Internet Archive Prelude to War 1942 · Feature · 52 min · Subtitles Title: Prelude to War Summary: The official World War II US Government film statement defining the various enemies of the Allies and why they must be fought.… Internet Archive The Battle of Midway 1942 · Short · Subtitles The Battle of Midway chronicles a significant moment in U.S. History, as have other Ford films like Young Mr. Lincoln (1939) and My Darling Clementine (1946),… Internet Archive L'antique Tolède 1912 · Short · 3 min A compilation of views of Toledo showing bridges, walls and other architectural highlights that appear to date from as early as the 8th century by Segundo de… Internet Archive The Quiet One 1948 · Feature · Subtitles You can find more information regarding this film on its IMDb page . Internet Archive Africa Speaks 1930 · Feature · Subtitles You can find more information regarding this film on its IMDb page . Internet Archive F For Fake 1975 · Feature Trickery. Deceit. Magic. In F for Fake, a free-form sort-of documentary by Orson Welles, the legendary filmmaker (and self-described charlatan) gleefully… Internet Archive TARGET FOR TODAY 1944 video & audio upgrade Feature · 1 h 32 min · Subtitles This high-res version is sharper, cleaner and with better audio than the existing IA copies. It also is in the correct aspect ratio and has a much smaller… Internet Archive Nuremberg Trials 1946 · Feature · 57 min Title: Nuremberg Trials Summary: A look at the trials of Nazi leaders. Directed by: Roman Karmen, Elizaveta Svilova Actors: Production Company: Tsentralnaya… Internet Archive Attack! Battle of New Britain 1944 · Feature · 58 min Documentary film depicting the attack by Allied forces on the Japanese strong-holds of Arawe Beach and Cape Gloucester, New Britain, in the South Pacific… Internet Archive Forensic Files All Episodes Collection 1996 · TV Forensic Files is an American documentary television series that details how various crimes are solved with the use of forensic science. This collection… Internet Archive Attack in the Pacific 1944 · Feature · 52 min A documentary made in 1944 The cartoon arrows take us from Guadalcanal through Midway to Iwo Jima, without spending any particular time on any of these… Internet Archive A Study Of Educational Inequalities In South Carolina 1936 · Feature · Subtitles A documentary produced by the National Association For the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) on the racial disparities in the education provided in South… Internet Archive Desert Victory 1943 · Feature · 1 h 10 min A featureless land fit only for war, as the narrator, J. L. Hodson stated in the early scenes. "If war was to be fought then let it begin here". In endless… Internet Archive Buster Keaton: A Hard Act To Follow 1987 · Feature · Subtitles A three-part television documentary series made in 1987, charting the life and career of Buster Keaton. The series was written and produced by Kevin Brownlow… Internet Archive War Comes to America 1945 · Feature · 1 h 3 min · Subtitles Title: War Comes to America Summary: Part VII of the "Why We Fight" series of wartime documentaries. This entry attempts to describe the factors leading up to… Internet Archive Know Your Enemy: Japan Commercial · 1 h 2 min · Subtitles A skillful, essentially truthful WW2 propaganda piece on Imperial Japan that exaggerated some issues by misquotes and by quoting the so-called "Tanaka… Internet Archive Walking with Dinosaurs (1999) 1999 · TV Walking with Dinosaurs is a six-part nature documentary television miniseries created by Tim Haines and produced by BBC Natural History Unit. The series first… Internet Archive Ivan Marx's The Legend Of Bigfoot - Special Edition Feature · 1 h 25 min · Subtitles A painstakingly researched, enhanced and extended cut of Ivan Marx controversial documentary. More informative and a good bit creepier than the original cut.… Internet Archive The TV Show that Brainwashed Children 2022 · Feature Original: https://youtu.be/9qklT3hYcr4?si=GRLRMu99b0EIaEjT The description says: Start speaking a new language in 3 weeks with Babbel 🎉. Get up to 65% OFF… Internet Archive The 6th Marine Division on Okinawa 1945 · Feature · 50 min During the campaign for Okinawa (Operation Iceberg) the Sixth Marine Division was assigned to the III Amphibious Corps. This Academy Award nominated… Internet Archive Combat America Feature · 1 h 1 min · Subtitles A feature-length documentary on the experiences and operations of the 351st Bombardment Group of the USAAF's 8th Air Force based in England, Presented and… Internet Archive Silent Hall Of Fame Documentary (2015) 2015 · Feature This documentary is copyrighted by Silent Hall of Fame. Please visit https://silent-hall-of-fame.org/ to support our non-profit mission and the legacy of… Internet Archive Ken. Burns. The. Civil. War. TV The Civil War is a 1990 American television documentary miniseries created by Ken Burns about the American Civil War. It was first broadcast on PBS on five… Internet Archive Cave Of Forgotten Dreams 2011 Doc 2010 · Feature Werner Herzog gains exclusive access to film inside the Chauvet caves of Southern France and captures the oldest known pictorial creations of humanity. Internet Archive Lest We Forget 1947 · Feature · 1 h 23 min US propaganda/documentary film about the operations in France/Germany in World War II. Internet Archive Connections (James Burke / BBC Documentary Series) 1978 · TV From Wikipedia: Connections is a science education television series created, written, and presented by science historian James Burke. The series was produced… 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…