Documentary from the world's archives

2,065–2,112 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 Dope Sheet - Series 1 (1997) 1997 · Documentary Documentary series about the history and techniques of animation. Internet Archive Astronomia: il Cuore "Caldo" di NGC 1275 1997 · Documentary 23rd episode of the Astronomia series by Fabbri Video OCR Analysis: astronomia-il-cuore-"caldo"-di-ngc-1275_cover_back.png: IL CUORE “CALDO” DI NGC 1275 Solo… Internet Archive Astronomia: Un Vortice di Stelle 1997 · Documentary 9th episode of the Astronomia series by Fabbri Video OCR Analysis: astronomia-un-vortice-di-stelle_cover_back.png: UN VORTICE DI STELLE Grazie alla teoria… Internet Archive Elvis In Hollywood The 50s (1993 UK VHS) Documentary This is the Full VHS Tape of Elvis in Hollywood The 50s as it was Released in 1993! Enjoy! Internet Archive Wildlife on One - S23E09 - Gannets: The Storm Birds (May 23rd 1996) 1996 · Documentary I am happy to share with you today another Wildlife on One episode. This time it is S23E09 - Gannets: The Storm Birds from 1996. My friend Paul managed to… Internet Archive Traces Of Death 1 Documentary Traces of Death is a collection of archive film and borrowed stock footage, notorious for its pointless exploitative content. In its opening you see the death… Internet Archive The Decline of Western Civilization [1981] - Trailer 1981 · Commercial The Los Angeles punk music scene circa 1980 is the focus of this film. With Alice Bag Band, Black Flag, Catholic Discipline, Circle Jerks, Fear, Germs, and X. Internet Archive Can't Buy Me Love (copy) 94 Min PG 13 (VHS label is wrong, it's A&E documentaries) Documentary Found on eBay, a VHS tape labeled like a copy of a movie, but contains A&E documentaries about Laurel and Hardy, and trolleys. Internet Archive [Vintage VHS] Sports Illustrated: NFL Total Impact Documentary 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 Challenge the Rockies (1988) — Commercial VHS 1988 · Commercial Commercially produced VHS tape digitized for preservation. Challenge the Rockies (also released and reviewed under the fuller title Challenge: The Canadian… Internet Archive Cary Grant, A Class Apart (2004) (Documentary) Documentary Found on eBay. Not the movie, but an A&E documentary about Cary Grant. The final fragment of movie, with not the best VHS tracking, appears to be some drama… Internet Archive [Vintage TV] Sgt. Pepper: It Was Twenty Years Ago Today (WTTW Chicago) Documentary 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 Taste Of China: Water Farmers (1984) Documentary ''Water Farmers'' pinpoints the effect of geographical environment on cuisine, especially in the Yangtze Delta area, where everything is harvested in shallow… Internet Archive The Lost Mimes of Borneo Commercial · 11 min A tribe of French mimes has been discovered in the wilds of Borneo. A noted anthropologist sets out to document their strange, self destructive orthodoxy. Can… Internet Archive Compass (ABC) - Heart of the Matter (BBC) - Undying Love (incomplete - 1992) 1992 · Documentary Originally from the BBC series "Heart of the Matter". Recorded from a broadcast on the ABC program "Compass" Info from BBC website (… Internet Archive Great Trains: Mallard: The Drake's Progress VHS Documentary Part of the "Great Trains" series of VHS tapes. A 1980's documentary film about the record breaking 126 MPH "Mallard" A4 Pacific steam locomotive and how it… Internet Archive [Vintage VHS] Gunfighters Of The Old West (Volume 1) Documentary 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 Exploring Nevada: Building on the Past 2003 · Documentary A DVD from the Nevada State Archives from the television series Exploring Nevada , produced by the Nevada Department of Cultural Affairs. This optical disc… Internet Archive Satoru Sayama Gekitou! Shooto Senshi VHS - 1994 1994 · Documentary Documentary about Sayama and Shooto. Internet Archive MAD HOT BALLROOM trailer Commercial · 2 min "Superb" "Inspiring, warm, touching" "A reason to go to the movies" (IMDB reviews quotes) A feature-length documentary on a ballroom dance competition for New… Internet Archive Astronomia: Progetto Marte 1997 · Documentary 18th episode of the Astronomia series from Fabbri Video OCR Analysis: astronomia-progetto-marte_cover_back.png: PROGETTO MARTE Nel luglio 1969, per la prima… Internet Archive Astronomia: Un Telescopio Grande quanto il Mondo. A caccia di Buchi Neri. 1997 · Documentary 22nd Episode of the Astronomia series by Fabbri Video OCR Analysis: astronomia-un-telescopio-grande-quanto-il-mondo.-a-caccia-di-buchi-neri._cover_back.png:… Internet Archive World War II: Frank Capra's Prelude to War 1986 · Commercial Prelude to War is the first film in Frank Capra's Why We Fight series, originally produced for the U.S. War Department to explain the causes and stakes of… Internet Archive Talk shows, news, documentaries, and sound only. 4 hours of NHK tv broadcasts and 2 hours of unknown japanese audio. Recorded on VHS Documentary $ hours of nhk tv broadcasts plus two hours of unknown Japanese sound. Tape includes news, talk shows, documentaries, music, and more. Recorded on VHS Patreon… Internet Archive Exploring Nevada - The Chinese and Nevada's Railroads: Tireless and Unremitting Documentary A DVD from the Nevada State archives , which was recorded on VHS to begin with. This is from the television series Exploring Nevada , produced by the now… Internet Archive Derryn Hinch interrupts a Bird Documentary Documentary · Subtitles The magic of video tape, someone must have hit the record button and quickly turned it off. But I was going through this tape when suddenly DERRYN HINCH, but… Internet Archive Talkin' Headz (The Metalheadz Documentary) (VHS, 1998, RUS VO by KZNDNB, 720p) 1998 · Documentary Спасибо KZNDNB и burggg ! Internet Archive Women According to Men - Zan beh ravayat-e mard (2020, Documentary) 720p Trailer Commercial About this movie Title: Women According to Men | Zan beh ravayat-e mard (2020, Documentary) Directed by: Saeed Nouri Date of birth: 1974, Tehran, Iran Writing… Internet Archive American Justice Episode Promo A&E 2000-02-02 2000 · Documentary This video clip is a promotional advertisement for an episode of 'American Justice' that focuses on the case of a murdered child and the subsequent suspicion… Internet Archive [Vintage VHS] The Century of Warfare: Air War, 1939-1945 Documentary 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 [Vintage VHS] Rodrigue: A Man & His Dog, featuring Whoopi Goldberg as Tiffany, The Blue Dog Documentary 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 Arena - Agatha Christie: An Unfinished Portrait (1990 TV Documentary) 1990 · Documentary The first bio-film of the world's most read author and the creator of Miss Marple and Hercule Poirot. With dramatic reconstructions (with Hermoine Eyre… Internet Archive Astronomia: Siamo Soli? 1997 · Documentary 10th episode of the Astronomia series by Fabbri Video. OCR Analysis: astronomia-siamo-soli?_cover_back.png: ES ARR ee Sa SR a TR Te cnc he a a a A RT ae… Internet Archive Classic Trains (1999 UK VHS) Documentary This is the Full VHS Tape of Classic Trains as it was released in 1999! Enjoy! Internet Archive A&E Biography (The Munsters) VHS Recording Documentary A&E Biography (The Munsters) VHS Recording Internet Archive VE Day Remembered VHS Documentary VHS Documentary tape recounting the events of the 2 days of May 1945 when the Second World War in Europe came to an end, featuring interviews with those… Internet Archive Amazons In Wrestling - 1980 VHS 1980 · Documentary Hong Kong documentary about women's wrestling. Internet Archive [Vintage VHS] Discovery Channel: The Great Bears of Alaska Documentary 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 Commercial VHS — The Spirit of Exploration (Early 1990s) 1992 · Commercial Commercially produced VHS tape digitized for preservation. Title: The Spirit of Exploration Producer/Publisher: Carlsbad Caverns Guadalupe Mountains… Internet Archive Aviation Enthusiasts (PBS Documentary, Incomplete) Documentary PBS Documentary (incomplete segment) featuring aviation enthusiasts, history and experimental attempts. From a VHS capture. Internet Archive Taraneh A Documentary 2025 Trailer Commercial About this movie Title: Taraneh: A Documentary (2025) Directed by: Pegah Ahangarani Date of birth: July 24, 1984, Arak, Iran Writing credits: Pegah Ahangarani… Internet Archive Astronomia: Il Riverbero del Big Bang 1997 · Documentary 26th Episode of the Astronomia series from Fabbri Video OCR Analysis: astronomia-il-riverbero-del-big-bang_cover_back.png: IL RIVERBERO DEL BIG BANG Gon la… Internet Archive Untrapped: The Story of Lil Baby - Official 'Family' Clip (2022) Dominique Armani Jones 2022 · Commercial Check out this clip from Untrapped: The Story of Lil Baby, an upcoming documentary about the rapper Lil Baby.Untrapped: The Story of Lil Baby is an intimate… Internet Archive Cutting Through Rocks - Saras stempel (2025, Documentary) Sara Shahverdi Documentary Trailer Commercial About this movie Title: Cutting Through Rocks | Saras stempel (2025, Documentary) Directed by: Sara Khaki, Mohammad Reza Eyni Date of birth: Tehran, Iran… Internet Archive How A Car Is Built (1995) 1995 · Documentary VHS Rip of "How a Car is Built" by Think Media and Ford Motor Company Internet Archive The Search for Weng Weng 2013 · Commercial The bizarre history of Filipino B-films, as told through filmmaker Andrew Leavold's personal quest to find the truth behind its midget James Bond superstar… Internet Archive Treasures In Trust (1995 UK VHS) Documentary This is the Full VHS Tape of Treasures in Trust as it was Released in 1995! Enjoy! Internet Archive UFO Diaries: Cydonia - The Mars Connection 1995 · Commercial Part of the UFO Diaries series, this installment examines the Cydonia region of Mars, focusing on the famous "Face on Mars" formation and its alleged…