Documentary from the world's archives

337–384 of 6,892 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 National Geographic on Assignment - The Body Snatchers, Gravity Never Sleeps, Navajo Sand painting 1989 · TV Episode of documentary series "National Geographic on Assignment", featuring ants, extreme sports, and Navajo sand painting. (Note: This episode aired in… Internet Archive 1986 POST CHERNOBYL DISASTER BELLORUSSIAN DOCUMENTARY FILM RETURN TO EXCLUSION ZONE XD14564 Documentary Produced just two years after the Chernobyl disaster by Belarusfilm and Goskino and with the assistance of the Belorussian Institute of Radiobiology, "After… Internet Archive Documentary Part 3 [motion picture] 1979 · Educational · 55 min Produced and researched by Herman J. Engel and Sonya Friedman A compilation of major sequences from landmark documentaries with brief introductions. Each… Internet Archive The March of Time - The French Campaign 1945 · Short · 14 min The episode follows the French campaign in 1944 from the beaches in Normandy to the libaration of Paris Internet Archive 04 Bowerbirds The Art Of Seduction ( 2000) 2000 · Feature Strand of documentaries on wildlife and the environment. Internet Archive The Heart of the Dragon: 9 -- Understanding 1984 · Educational Documentary Anthony Quayle Chinese scientists and technologists are trying to catch up after the disruptions of the Cultural Revolution. With limited… Internet Archive " MEET COMRADE STUDENT " SOVIET SCHOOL SYSTEM 1962 COLD WAR DOCUMENTARY PART 1 44235 Documentary This 1962 black and white film about Soviet schools was distributed by McGraw-Hill Text-Films and produced and directed by Nicholas Webster. "Meet Comrade… Internet Archive Herbophrenia 2001 · Documentary Student film written and directed by Michael Niemczycki while an undergraduate at UCLA Film & Television. Tagline is "The untold story of the most important… Internet Archive Connections by James Burke (Seasons 1-3) 1978 · Documentary "Connections explores an "Alternative View of Change" that rejects the conventional linear and teleological view of historical progress. Burke contends that… Internet Archive A Fifth Army Report from the Beachhead 1944 · Short · 9 min This short U.S. Army Signal Corps report shows the fighting and casualties involved in securing Anzio beachhead during World War II. Internet Archive The Case of the Tremendous Trifle 1944 · Short · 20 min In this short documantary the Disney Studios tells the story of the vital importance to the war effort of the pin-point bombing of the ball bearing industry… Internet Archive The Last Pullman Car 1983 · Educational · 57 min Traces the development of lasers and discusses their applications in the fields of medicine, dentistry, construction, and communications. Internet Archive Diary of a Sergeant 1945 · Short · 22 min A Canadian-born, Boston-raised paratroop sergeant in World War II, Harold Russell lost both hands in a demolition accident and later appeared in this Army… Internet Archive The Big Freeze BBC Short · 46 min A BBC-produced documentary on the record-breaking winter of 1962-3 that paralyzed Britain. Directed by Kenneth Corden. Released in 1963. Complete print. Internet Archive BloodSpell - Animation - Making of documentary 2008 · Short This is the third of a series of documentaries about the making of BloodSpell, the hit Machinima series of 2006, now also available as a feature film . In… Internet Archive BloodSpell: It Begins - Documentary 2008 · Short This is the first of a series of documentaries about the making of BloodSpell, the hit Machinima series of 2006, now also available as a feature film This… Internet Archive Wildlife on One - S23E08 - Possums: Tales Of The Unexpected (May 16th 1996) 1996 · TV Here's a brand new transfer of Wildlife on One episode Possums: Tales Of The Unexpected, originally broadcast on BBC one on the 16th May 1996. This was taken… Internet Archive " THE TIME OF MAN " 1969 HUMAN DEVELOPMENT & ANTHROPOLOGY DOCUMENTARY w/ MARGARET MEAD XD38924 Documentary This 1969 film "The Time of Man" presents an overview of human development, highlighting historic threats to survival (TRT 49:15). It was directed by Marshall… Internet Archive Regen 1929 · Feature Internet Archive Buster Keaton, The Genius Destroyed By Hollywood Feature Buster Keaton documentary Internet Archive The Most Courageous Raid of WWII 2011 · Feature The story of the Cockleshell Heroes, who raided Nazi-occupied Bordeaux in 1942. Internet Archive The Enemy Strikes 1945 · Short · 10 min Documentary short film depicting the breakthrough of Von Rundstedt's German forces in Europe and how complacency on the American homefront may have… Internet Archive 1925 Studio Tour Short · 31 min A 32-minute behind the scenes tour of MGM's studios with glimpses of MGM's stars, supporting players, directors, writers, production and support staffs.… Internet Archive An English Village 1957 · Documentary · 20 min Short documentary from 1957, filmed in the English village of Harting. Produced for the Central Office of Information (COI), and shown internationally. Internet Archive Angel in Overalls 1944 · Short · 14 min This World War II-era short film tells the story of the worker back home in the States, who ran the factories to make the Lockheed P-38 Internet Archive Das weiße Stadion 1929 · Feature Internet Archive VIETNAM WAR DOCUMENTARY THE VILLAGE THAT REFUSES TO DIE PART 1 77314 Documentary This two part film tells the story of Father Augustine Nguyễn Lạc Hóa (c. 1908 – c. 1989), a refugee Chinese Catholic priest in South Vietnam, led a militia… Internet Archive Operation Inchon 1952 · Short · 18 min This film is a documentary on the activities of the UN forces in Korea during August and September 1950 Internet Archive BBC Documentary On The Life Of Queen Elizabeth II ( Circa 1997) TV BBC Documentary On The Life Of Queen Elizabeth II ( Circa 1997) Internet Archive "NUREMBERG: IT'S LESSON FOR TODAY" WWII NUREMBERG WAR CRIME TRIALS DOCUMENTARY FILM Short Version 24692 Documentary "Nuremberg: It's Lesson for Today" was made by the Office of Military Government for Germany in May of 1947 under the auspices of the OSS Field Photographic… Internet Archive John Lennon Remembered (1985) TV Featuring interviews by Paul McCartney, George Harrison, Julian Lennon, Mr. Pobjoy, Alan Williams, Bob Wooler, George Martin, and May Pang, John Lennon:… Internet Archive National Geographic on Assignment - African Elephants, Submarine Races, & Angkor Wat 1990 · TV Episode of documentary series "National Geographic on Assignment", featuring African elephants, submarine races, and Angkor Wat. (Note: This episode aired in… Internet Archive Wildlife On One - S15E04 - The Case of the Vanishing Squirrel - x264 1987 · TV Always on my quest to find everything Sir David Attenborough, here's another Wildlife on One episode that did not seem to be available anywhere online. Found… Internet Archive “ SKYSCRAPER ” CONSTRUCTION OF 666 5TH AVE. NEW YORK CITY 1959 DOCUMENTARY MD40784 Documentary This 1959 sponsored documentary directed by Shirley Clarke uses experimental montage techniques to dramatize the construction of the 666 Fifth Avenue… Internet Archive Po horách, po dolách 1930 · Feature Internet Archive Sananguagat: Inuit Masterworks of 1,000 Years 1974 · Educational · 25 min An exhibition of Eskimo carvings from the Canadian Eskimo Arts Council. Alternating between close-ups of the carvings are views of daily activities in the… Internet Archive POLAND 1936 DOCUMENTARY FILM WARSAW JEWISH NEIGHBORHOOD 77494 Documentary Made by an obscure company called Trading Corporation in 1936 and directed by John C. Elder, POLAND presents images of that nation prior to WWII and the Nazi… Internet Archive A.A.F. Report 1944 · Short · 41 min General H.H. Arnold's story of how the United States Army Air Force in a period of two years emerged from the seventh to the first rate air power. Shows the… Internet Archive The Heart of the Dragon: 4 -- Believing 1984 · Educational · 54 min Anthony Quayle Explores the ancient teachings of Taoism, Buddhism, Confucianism and the modern philosophies of Marxism and Maoism. Describes the influences… Internet Archive THE ROAD TO THE WALL COLD WAR DOCUMENTARY 1962 with JAMES CAGNEY 71082 Documentary Produced in 1962 and narrated by actor James Cagney, "The Road to the Wall" explores the steady march of Communism through the years. It begins with the… Internet Archive The Fleet That Came to Stay 1945 · Short · 20 min The Fleet That Came to Stay was a propaganda short film produced by the US Navy in 1945 about the naval engagements of Operation Iceberg the invasion of… Internet Archive You Wasn't Loitering 1973 · Educational Documentary Produced in 1966 and released in 1973 Title from container Series title from container "The films in this series were designed for use in law… Internet Archive Jack Levine: A Feast Of Pure Reason (1986) 2023 · TV This award-winning film portrait of the 1937 painting by the Social Realist painter was taken from a 1989 PBS P.O.V. broadcast with some commentary from… Internet Archive The Heart of the Dragon: 2 -- Caring 1984 · Educational · 55 min Documentary Title from container Anthony Quayle This explores the ways in which the family, the street, the neighborhood and institutions provide a… Internet Archive Camouflage Dummies and Decoys 1944 · Short · 13 min This War Department Film Bulletin explains the use of Camouflage in desert warfare — Use of wire, cloth, paper, foliage, mud and soil in preparation and… Internet Archive “LET’S GO TO THE MOVIES” 1949 AMPAS DOCUMENTARY PRODUCTION OF HOLLYWOOD FEATURE FILMS XD45354 Documentary One of a series of short subjects made in 1949 by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, "Let's Go to the Movies" provides a brisk,… Internet Archive Impact Of Television [ Documentary Discussion] 1980 1980 · TV Here is a documentary "Impact of Television." Examines how television has affected the behavior and attitudes of Americans. Includes interviews with TV… Internet Archive Prophecy & Prediction: Threat or Warning? (1998) 1998 · Commercial 1998 documentary, hosted by Ronnie Burns 1999 broadcast with ad breaks included Ad breaks: 1 The Footy Show TV promo Mazda V6 MPV Pedigree Meaty-Bites For Me…