Documentary from the world's archives

1,729–1,776 of 6,832 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. Nothing is left out for being sexual: sexual content and nudity are for adults, placed by what the archive files a film as, never by a word of its title alone (The Naked City is a police film). A film filed as pornography is listed for adults without its picture and plays nowhere yet, as the law where it would play asks for a proof of age this site does not have. A sexual depiction of a child, drawn ones too, is listed nowhere.

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 content, pornography, nudity and nudism, striptease, sexual themes (such as the old "sex hygiene" films), gore, surgery, slaughter, beheadings, atrocity footage.
Internet Archive Arsenal: End of Season Review 1991/92 1992 · Documentary Bootleg DVD transcode via MakeMKV. For archival purposes I've not converted this in any way from the original video and just repackaged the mkv into an mp4… Internet Archive Discovery: Africa Documentary 1993 · Documentary Recorded in 1993 vhs I don't understand why it's in such poor quality I have no problem with anyone sharing anything that I've uploaded just as long as I'm… Internet Archive London Buses Remembered (1987) 1987 · Documentary For over 150 years they have served the Capital well. The familiar Red Bus glides through the city Streets serving London. In this recording we take a look at… Internet Archive [Vintage TV] Nova: Tracking The Supertrains; National Geographic: Love Those Trains (WTTW Chicago) Documentary · Subtitles Transferred from tape using the RF method. Videos processed with vhs-decode and hifi-decode. See: https://github.com/oyvindln/vhs-decode File types included… Internet Archive Wilderness Rhapsody 1991 · Documentary VHS rip Internet Archive Biography This Week Christopher Reeve Feature Promo A&E 1995-10-21 1995 · Commercial This clip is an advertisement for 'Biography This Week' on A&E, featuring an episode about Christopher Reeve and his recovery after an accident. The show… Internet Archive [Vintage VHS] Great American Rail Journeys: The Rockies By Rail Documentary · Subtitles Transferred from tape using the RF method. Videos processed with vhs-decode and hifi-decode. See: https://github.com/oyvindln/vhs-decode File types included… Internet Archive Trout Fish Tasmania ( 1986) 1986 · Documentary 1992 VHS Tape. Distributed by Tasmanian Video Distributors, operating from Battery Point, Tasmania. Internet Archive Kingdom of the Ice Bear (1986) BBC VHS edition 1996 · Documentary What we have today is a VHS-Decode capture of the Kingdom of the Ice Bear VHS. This one is a bit peculiar, I originally expected the tape to contain the… Internet Archive Islam in South Asia (1989) 1989 · Documentary Defines Islam in terms of the five duties of a believer, identifies the majority (Sunni) and minority (Shia) traditions. Shows Moslems preparing for prayer… Internet Archive First Strike! Desert Storm – U.S. Army (1991, War in the Gulf Video Series VHS) 1991 · Documentary First Strike! Desert Storm – U.S. Army is part of the War in the Gulf Video Series (released in 1991 ) that chronicles the U.S. Army’s role during the opening… Internet Archive Q.E.D. - The Boy Who Draws Buildings - February 13th, 1991 - MP4 1991 · Documentary Q.E.D. - The Boy Who Draws Buildings - February 13th, 1991 - MP4 Video Size: 640x480 Q.E.D. (quod erat demonstrandum, Latin for "that which was to be… Internet Archive Murder In The Heartland (1995) Documentary · Subtitles Title: Murder in the Heartland Year: 1995 Source: VHS Description: "Murder in the Heartland" is a gripping and controversial 1995 documentary exploring the… Internet Archive Q.E.D. - Gallop to Freedom - May 12th, 1993 - MP4 1993 · Documentary Q.E.D. - Gallop to Freedom - May 12th, 1993 - MP4 Video Size: 384x288 Q.E.D. (quod erat demonstrandum, Latin for "that which was to be demonstrated") was the… Internet Archive [Vintage VHS] National Geographic: African Safari Documentary · Subtitles Transferred from tape using the RF method. Videos processed with vhs-decode and hifi-decode. See: https://github.com/oyvindln/vhs-decode File types included… Internet Archive ABC TV - Taoism Documentary (1993) 1993 · Documentary Person who recorded this didn't get the title of this documentary so I'm posting this with the hope that someone involved knows about it. "Thanks to Ching… Internet Archive Nature - S18E07 - Humpback Whales (January 9th 2000) 2000 · Documentary Here's an episode of the PBS Nature series, Humpback Whale from 2000. My friend Rattera had already shared a transfer of this a while ago, but he decided to… Internet Archive AIDS: The Women Speak (1989) 1989 · Documentary "This documentary looks at AIDS from the point of view of women, both those who have the disease and those who care for victims of the disease. From mothers… Internet Archive Q.E.D. - The Magic Picture Show - March 13th, 1985 - MPG 1985 · Documentary Q.E.D. - The Magic Picture Show - March 13th, 1985 - MPG Video Size: 720x576 Q.E.D. (quod erat demonstrandum, Latin for "that which was to be demonstrated")… Internet Archive A History of Weston-Super-Mare (1995) 1995 · Documentary Countless generations have reveled in happy summer holidays at Western-super-Mare. Yet hidden by its popular image of sandcastles and donkey rides, Weston has… Internet Archive American Movie 1999 · Commercial American Movie is the story of filmmaker Mark Borchardt, his mission, and his dream. Spanning over two years of intense struggle with his film, his family,… Internet Archive Breaking News (1998) Documentary · Subtitles This documentary, which aired on TLC (The Learning Channel), goes behind the scenes of the news department at KCBS-TV in Los Angeles, CA. Commercials were… Internet Archive The Mind (George Page) Part 3 Aging Documentary · Subtitles PBS documentary, The Mind, hosted by George Page. Episode 3, Aging. From VHS capture. Topics include: twins studies on aging, research on primate aging,… Internet Archive [Vintage VHS] National Geographic: African Wildlife Documentary · Subtitles Transferred from tape using the RF method. Videos processed with vhs-decode and hifi-decode. See: https://github.com/oyvindln/vhs-decode File types included… Internet Archive A&E Biography (Paul Reubens aka Pee Wee Herman, 2009) VHS Recording Documentary A&E Biography (Paul Reubens aka Pee Wee Herman, 2009) (R.I.P Paul Reubens. Pee Wee or out of Pee Wee, you were always entertaining.) Internet Archive David Attenborough's World of Wildlife - African Big Cats (1995) 1995 · Documentary David Attenborough's World of Wildlife - African Big Cats (1995) transferred with VHS-Decode. Internet Archive What Makes Shaw Run Run (1972) - Whicker's Orient S01E01 1972 · TV Episode 1 of Whicker's Orient where journalist and broadcaster Alan Whicker travels around in Asia. In this episode he visits legendary film producer Run Run… Internet Archive The Irish In Australia: The Beat of a Distant Drum Documentary An old Australian documentary from 1987 about the Irish I found on a VHS tape. Does not appear to be for sale anywhere, so I put it here for preservation… Internet Archive ' Biggin Hill International Air Fair' ( 1990) VHS Documentary 1990 · Documentary This exciting VHS video celebrates the 50th Anniversary of The Battle Of Britain. It brings you spectacular action from many different aircraft, old and new,… Internet Archive [Vintage VHS] World of Discovery: Shark Chronicles Documentary · Subtitles Transferred from tape using the RF method. Videos processed with vhs-decode and hifi-decode. See: https://github.com/oyvindln/vhs-decode File types included… Internet Archive A Winter Too Many (1992 UK VHS) Documentary This is the Full VHS Tape of A Winter Too Many as it was released in 1992! Enjoy! Internet Archive Commercial VHS — Secret NASA Transmissions: Martyn Stubbs Live at Leeds! (2000) 2000 · Commercial Commercially produced VHS tape digitized for preservation. Title: Secret NASA Transmissions: Martyn Stubbs Live at Leeds! Producer/Publisher: UFOTV / Quest… Internet Archive Wild Animals of Africa (1992/1994) — Commercial VHS 1994 · Commercial Commercially produced VHS tape digitized for preservation. Wild Animals of Africa. Published by Diamond Entertainment Corporation (DEC), Anaheim, California.… Internet Archive Arsenal: End of Season Review 1970/71 1989 · Documentary Bootleg DVD transcode via MakeMKV. For archival purposes I've not converted this in any way from the original video and just repackaged the mkv into an mp4… Internet Archive Q.E.D. - Bend! Bend! Bend! - August 15th, 1983 - MP4 1983 · Documentary Q.E.D. - Bend! Bend! Bend! - August 15th, 1983 - MP4 Video Size: 640x480 Q.E.D. (quod erat demonstrandum, Latin for "that which was to be demonstrated") was… Internet Archive Q.E.D. - To Fly Like A Bird - February 3rd, 1988 - MP4 1988 · Documentary Q.E.D. - To Fly Like A Bird - February 3rd, 1988 - MP4 Video Size: 640x480 Q.E.D. (quod erat demonstrandum, Latin for "that which was to be demonstrated") was… Internet Archive Canada True North E 1 The Relationship 1988 · Documentary Canada: True North is a 1988 documentary series on Canadian history and identity. The 4 part series aired on PBS during the fall 1988 season. Canadian… Internet Archive Q.E.D. - The Foolish Wise Ones - February 11th, 1987 - MP4 1987 · Documentary Q.E.D. - The Foolish Wise Ones - February 11th, 1987 - MP4 Video Size: 640x480 Q.E.D. (quod erat demonstrandum, Latin for "that which was to be demonstrated")… Internet Archive The Loons On Golden Pond 1991 · Documentary The LOONS On Golden Pond A seductive adventure into the American wilderness, borne on the wings of the common loon. For 65 million years, the common loon has… Internet Archive The Coast of Amalfi (PAL VHS) Documentary My Great Aunt recently passed and she left me her collection of videotapes to digitise and upload here so, yeah. Recorded using the Windows 10 camera app. Internet Archive The House on the Waterfall 1989 · Documentary VHS rip Internet Archive [Vintage VHS] The American Experience: Last Stand At Little Big Horn Documentary · Subtitles Transferred from tape using the RF method. Videos processed with vhs-decode and hifi-decode. See: https://github.com/oyvindln/vhs-decode File types included… Internet Archive Q.E.D. - Simon's War - April 6th, 1983 - MP4 1983 · Documentary Q.E.D. - Simon's War - April 6th, 1983 - MP4 Video Size: 640x480 Q.E.D. (quod erat demonstrandum, Latin for "that which was to be demonstrated") was the name… Internet Archive Arsenal: End of Season Review 1987/88 1988 · Documentary Bootleg DVD transcode via MakeMKV. For archival purposes I've not converted this in any way from the original video and just repackaged the mkv into an mp4… Internet Archive Daylight Robbery 2 - grey squirrels documentary (1991) 1991 · Documentary BBC documentary on grey squirrels, including footage of them on obstacle courses. Presented by Jessica Holm VHS recording from ABC TV in Perth, Australia.… Internet Archive Q.E.D. - Pigeon Pie - March 11th, 1995 - MP4 1995 · Documentary Q.E.D. - Pigeon Pie - March 11th, 1995 - MP4 Video Size: 640x480 Q.E.D. (quod erat demonstrandum, Latin for "that which was to be demonstrated") was the name… Internet Archive Secrets of the Unknown: The Titanic 1989 · Documentary THE TITANIC What was the real reason behind the famous tragedy of the luxury liner Titanic that sent 1,500 passengers to the icy floor of the Atlantic? Why… Internet Archive Langhe Doc - movie trailer / Stories of heretics in the Italy of warehouses 2010 · Commercial · 4 min Langhe Doc / the movie - Documentary Teaser 08-2010 http://www.langhedoc.it prenotazione/booking: http://www.produzionidalbasso.com/pdb_489.html Stories of…