Documentary from the world's archives

145–192 of 6,888 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 Unacknowledged (2017) 2017 · Feature "Unacknowledged" is a 2017 documentary directed by Michael Mazzola that explores the historic files of the Disclosure Project, presenting evidence of… Internet Archive The First Eden 1987 · Feature Sir David Attenborough reviews the history of mankind's relationship with the natural world in the lands around the Mediterranean. Internet Archive "Delivering Newspapers" (1903) 1903 · 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… Internet Archive Star Wars - Music by John Williams 1980 BBC Documentary 1980 · Documentary Rare BBC documentary which has never been repeated or officially released. Witness John Williams composing the legendary score for The Empire Strikes and… Internet Archive Louis Theroux's Weird Weekends S1E2 1998 · TV Louis Theroux's Weird Weekends - Series One, Episode 2: "UFOs" This episode follows several people who believe in UFOs. One of these is a man called Thor… Internet Archive Journey To The Edge Of The World 2009 · Feature Comedian, actor and musician Billy Connolly braves the elements in this adventurous journey from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific, via the legendary… Internet Archive The Battle of San Pietro 1945 · Short · 43 min Documentary of the US efforts to take Italy by acclaimed director John Huston. The US Army which commissioned the film refused to show it because it was too… Internet Archive Report From The Aleutians 1943 · Short · 46 min Director John Huston, while a member of the U.S. Army Signal Corps in 1943, creates an Academy Award winning documentary, which he narrates with assistance… Internet Archive Burgos 1911 · Short 1911 Segundo de Chomón Burgos (Voyage) Internet Archive "Panorama Of Machine Co. Aisle" (1904) cinematographer Billy Bitzer 1904 · 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… Internet Archive The Day After Trinity 1980 · Educational Narrator: Paul Frees Featuring: Haakon Chevalier, Hans Bethe, Frank Oppenheimer Edited by David Peoples, Ralph Wikke ; camera, Tom McDonough, David Espar,… Internet Archive Sands of Sorrow 1950 · Short · 28 min On the plight of Arab refugees from the Arab-Israeli war. Dorothy Thompson speaks on the refugee problem. Refugees live in tents in the Gaza Strip, are given… Internet Archive Chang: A Drama Of The Wilderness (1927) 1927 · Feature I've been researching newly public domain films from 1929 and earlier, along with other pictures of the era that I find interesting, so I'm uploading the best… Internet Archive CRONOLOGIA DEL DOOMVERSE KAI #doomentio100k 2022 · Feature Original: https://youtu.be/R5WfyGzp0Co La descripción decía: Video de Nostrafort: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wqj6f... Hilo de Noid:… Internet Archive Good Taste Made Bad Taste 1988 · Short A short documentary about the sudden popularity of the 1987 culthit Bad Taste. With a look on how it was made and a short biographic story about the film's… Internet Archive VICTORY AT SEA part 2 of 4 TV · Subtitles FROM IMDB: Twenty-six episode series about naval combat during World War Two. Famous for its music score, eloquent narration and combat footage. NOTE:… Internet Archive In the Shadow of the Caravans 1979 · Feature This documentary explores life in Afghanistan, months ahead of the Soviet invasion in 1979. Licensed by Cinecontact. Internet Archive Jane Goodall's Wild Chimpanzees 1996 · TV This is a story which began in 1960, when Jane Goodall first ventured into Tanzania's Gombe National Park to study chimpanzees in the wild. A two-year-old… Internet Archive "Welding the Big Ring" (1904) cinematographer Billy Bitzer 1904 · 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… Internet Archive "Man Overboard! 'Indiana'" (1904) cinematographer Billy Bitzer 1904 · 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… Internet Archive Berlin: Symphony of a Great City 1928 · Feature Internet Archive Barcelone Et Son Parc 1911 · Short 1911 Segundo de Chomón Barcelone Et Son Parc (Barcelona And The Park) Internet Archive See it now (1951) TV · 29 min · Subtitles The 6th edition of Edward R. Murrow's and Fred W. Friendly's newsmagazine "See it now" from Dec. 23, 1951. Internet Archive "The Brooklyn Handicap" (1904) cinematographer Billy Bitzer 1904 · 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… Internet Archive Thunderbolt 1947 · Short · 44 min A documentary about the P-47 Thunderbolt fighter bomber and its use in missions over Italy during the 2nd World War. Internet Archive The World of Tomorrow 1984 · Educational · 45 min The World of Tomorrow Reel 2 Search Educational Film Journals at Media History Project for references to this film Internet Archive Regen (Rain) 1929 · Short Short documentary film by legendary Dutch filmmaker Joris Ivens. A poetic meditation on the transformation of a city by rain.… Internet Archive The Great White Silence (1924) 1924 · Feature In 1910 the British Antarctic Expedition, led by Capt. Robert F. Scott, embarks from Lyttleton, NZ on a quest to become the first to reach the South Pole. The… Internet Archive VICTORY AT SEA part 3 of 4 TV · Subtitles FROM IMDB: Twenty-six episode series about naval combat during World War Two. Famous for its music score, eloquent narration and combat footage. NOTE:… Internet Archive The Feast 1968 · Educational Credits: Producers, Timothy Asch, Napoleon Chagnon ; filmmaker, Timothy Asch Illustrates the feasting practices of the Yanomamo Indians of southern… Internet Archive The Great White Silence (restored, colorized) (1924, documentary, imdb score: 8) Feature The Great White Silence is a 1924 English documentary that contains brief cinematograph sequences taken during the Terra Nova Expedition of 1910–1913. The… Internet Archive CRUSADE IN THE PACIFIC part 3 of 4 TV · Subtitles Crusade in the Pacific was an independently produced television documentary series on the Pacific Theater of World War II. The twenty-six episodes were… Internet Archive VICTORY AT SEA part 4 of 4 TV · Subtitles FROM IMDB: Twenty-six episode series about naval combat during World War Two. Famous for its music score, eloquent narration and combat footage. NOTE:… Internet Archive You Can Change The World TV · Subtitles You Can Change The World 1951 tv ?documentary? Internet Archive CRUSADE IN THE PACIFIC part 2 of 4 TV · Subtitles Crusade in the Pacific was an independently produced television documentary series on the Pacific Theater of World War II. The twenty-six episodes were… Internet Archive Song Of Ceylon 1934 · Short Bizarre "documentary" of "primitive" life in Ceylon (Sri Lanka). Commentary consists of excerpts from Robert Knox "An Historical Relation of Ceylon", written… Internet Archive Neanderthal Code 2008 · Feature Neanderthals are the closest relative to modern humans - and the most misunderstood. Once dismissed as backward brutes, now the question is whether they… Internet Archive Apollo 17: On The Shoulders Of Giants 1973 · TV · 28 min · Subtitles A 1973 documentary about the Apollo 17 mission to the moon during December 1972. Produced by A-V Corporation for NASA. The film was distributed both as an… Internet Archive My City Pizza - Documentary (2008) Short · 4 min My City Pizza - Documentary Iran/UK / 2008 / 26mins / dir. Ala Mohseni / Farsi with English subtitles Short Synopsis While a wide range of delicious and well… Internet Archive Gérone, La Venise Espagnole 1912 · Short 1912 Segundo de Chomón Gérone, La Venise Espagnole - Girona, the Spanish Venice Internet Archive The Private Life of Plants (1995) 1995 · TV The Private Life of Plants is a BBC nature documentary series written and presented by David Attenborough , first shown in the United Kingdom from 11 January… Internet Archive Chang: A Drama of the Wilderness 1927 · Feature Internet Archive The Virus That Cures BBC Horizon 1997 1997 · TV BBC Horizon documentary about bacteriophages, which are viruses that eat bacteria, and can be used as cures for antibiotic resistant infections. Internet Archive Life in the Freezer (1993 TV documentary miniseries) 1993 · TV Series exploring the natural history of Antarctica. Presenting and narration by David Attenborough Internet Archive One Life. 2011.dvdrip.xvid Documentary 2011 · Feature Focuses on the cyclical journey taken by all living creatures, from birth to having youngsters of their own. Internet Archive The Lime Grove Story (BBC2, 1991) 1991 · TV On 13 th June 1991, BBC2 arts programme the Late Show became the final production to be recorded at Lime Grove Studios in Shepherd’s Bush, London, bringing an… Internet Archive Fury in the Pacific 1945 · Short Fury in the Pacific is a 1945 documentary short film about a pair of World War II battles in the Pacific: the Battle of Peleliu and the Battle of Angaur. It… Internet Archive Our Times | Roozegar-e Ma (documentary) (2002) Feature Title: Our Times - Roozegar-e Ma (documentary) (2002) Directed by: Rakhshan Bani Etemad Date of birth: 3 April 1954, Tehran, Iran Writing credits: Rakhshan…