Educationals from the world's archives

529–576 of 20,948 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 Night Journey 1961 · Educational Martha Graham, Betram Ross, Paul Taylor Photography, Stanley Meredith ; editing, Miriam Arsham ; music, William Schuman Martha Graham's direction of Night… Internet Archive The Day the Earth Stood Still 1951 · Educational Creature film; feature Michael Rennie, Patricia Neal, Hugh Marlowe, Sam Jaffe, Billy Gray, Frances Bavier, Lock Martin, Frank Conray, Carleton Young, Fay… Internet Archive Story of Chinese art. 1952 · Educational · 21 min · Subtitles Surveys the history of Chinese art using animated maps and art objects selected for their beauty and significance. Considers the influence of central Asia,… Internet Archive The Day The Universe Changed: 7 - The Social Impacts of New Medical Knowledge 1985 · Educational · 54 min VHS Written and presented by James Burke; produced by the BBC and RKO Pictures Traces contemporary society's recognition of the value of statistics to… Internet Archive Filmstrip: "Part 1: A Background" 1978 · Educational SOUND FILMSTRIP IS AN AT-RISK MEDIA FORMAT. I am the only person on earth preserving American filmstrips. The media format is largely forgotten and very… Internet Archive Behavior Theory in Practice. 1965 · Educational · 20 min · Subtitles Defines respondent and operant behavior and shows laboratory experiments with mice, pigeons etc. illustrating biological and non- biological reinforcers and… Internet Archive America: 6 -- a Firebell in the Night 1972 · Educational · 53 min · Subtitles America: 6 -- a Firebell in the Night Summary Describes developments from early slave importation to present South.rn shanty towns. Presents Alistair Cooke… Internet Archive Latitude Zero 1961 · Educational · 23 min Here, Filmmaker Bill Deneen accompanies a Franciscan priest, John Farrell, and his boat 'Pio XII,' as they ply the backwaters of the Amazon River. There are… Internet Archive Other People's Garbage 1980 · Educational · 30 min Ron Wescott Cinematographers, Kevin Benke, Skip Brouen; editor, Ron Blair Historical archaeologists investigate the recent U.S. past in excavations of slave… Internet Archive Night of The Squid 1970 · Educational · 27 min · Subtitles Night of The Squid Reel 2 Reel 1 available here Traces the life cycle of the giant squid, and shows some of its antics and bizarre night life. Summary Traces… Internet Archive The Larynx and voice: physiology of the larynx under daily stress 1958 · Educational · 23 min · Subtitles Producers, Hans von Leden, Paul Moore ; writers, Paul Moore, Hans von Leden Uses high speed photography to show the human larynx in action and demonstrate its… Internet Archive THE LIBERATION OF ROME 1944 · Educational National Archives and Records Administration THE LIBERATION OF ROME Department of Defense. Department of the Army. Office of the Chief Signal Officer.… Internet Archive The Real West 1961 · Educational · 46 min Televised on the NBC program Project 20 on March 29, 1961 A story of the American West, using vintage photographs and new film. Tells about hardship, hunger,… Internet Archive Filmstrip: "Cigarette Smoking: Take It Or Leave It" 1974 · Educational SOUND FILMSTRIP IS AN AT-RISK MEDIA FORMAT. I am the only person on earth preserving American filmstrips. The media format is largely forgotten and very… Internet Archive The Human Brain 1983 · Educational Title from data sheet Consultant, William V. Mayer Intended audience: Junior and senior high school students Issued also as videorecording Describes the… Internet Archive Arabic X-ray film. 1962 · Educational · 12 min Examines standard colloquial Damascan, the ordinary conversational speech of educated male Muslims. Material is selected to illustrate the contrast between… Internet Archive Let's make a film. 1971 · Educational · 13 min · Subtitles Shows how children between the ages of five and eighteen, working at the Yellow Ball Workshop, make animated films using hinged cut-outs, clay, toys, painted… Internet Archive The Little Prince 1979 · Educational · 28 min Title from data sheet Based on the book of the same title, by Antoine de Saint Exupéry Director and producer, Will Vinton Shows a child whose… Internet Archive How Life Begins 1968 · Educational · 46 min How Life Begins Search Educational Film Journals at Media History Project for references to this film Summary Presents the many and varied ways in which both… Internet Archive The Vice Presidency 1956 · Educational · 52 min · Subtitles The Vice Presidency Summary Studies the rights and duties of the vice president and the men who have served in that capacity, from John Adams to Richard Nixon. Internet Archive Unique War 1966 · Educational Department of the Army Unique War AVA17237VNB1, 1966 The program portrays the mission of the armed forces in South Vietnam. They search for the enemy on the… Internet Archive Alcoholism: Life Under The Influence 1984 · Educational · 28 min · Subtitles Alcoholism: Life Under The Influence Reel 1 Reel 2 available here An interdisciplinary report on alcoholism, focusing on a scientific understanding of the… Internet Archive At Your Fingertips: Boxes 1970 · Educational Reveals the supermarket as a source for every imaginable box, carton and container. Explains that these same receptacles, once they find their way to the… Internet Archive Do we really need the Rockies? 1980 · Educational · 28 min · Subtitles Produced by WGBH for the Nova series Investigates the pros and cons of shale oil production in the western Rocky Mountains. States that while there is more… Internet Archive Heidelberg 1960 · Educational · 16 min · Subtitles Second edition With student handbook by Harmut Steinecke and W. Gregor Heggen Summary A German language film. Surveys areas of Heidelberg, such as the… Internet Archive Temple of Moloch, The 1914 · Educational · 13 min From Journal of the Outdoor Life By National Tuberculosis Association February 1914: The plot of this year's picture, "The Temple of Moloch," is laid in a… Internet Archive Summer Solstice 1981 · Educational · 51 min · Subtitles Summer Solstice Summary Looks at a couple whose marriage has lasted 50 years. Joins them on a visit to the beach where they met and fell in love and where… Internet Archive Women Inside. [Motion picture] 1980 · Educational · 33 min · Subtitles Reel 2 available here Title from data sheet Also issued as videorecording Search Educational Film Journals at Media History Project for references to this… Internet Archive Trial by Fire: A Carrier Fights for Life 1973 · Educational United States Navy Trial by Fire: A Carrier Fights for Life AVA19833VNB1 - 1973 A motivational film for Navy personnel on the prevention of fire and for… Internet Archive Project Discovery: a Demonstration in Education 1965 · Educational · 30 min This important film focuses on the experimental project most responsible for taking millions of public dollars away from textbook producers, and delivering it… Internet Archive Great Railway Journeys of The World: The Long Straight 1981 · Educational · 31 min · Subtitles Great Railway Journeys of The World: The Long Straight Reel 2 Reel 1 available here Playwright and journalist Michael Frayn journeys by train across Australia… Internet Archive Filmstrip: "The Scooby-Doo Gang in "Matthew Henson, Black Explorer"" 1978 · Educational SOUND FILMSTRIP IS AN AT-RISK MEDIA FORMAT. I am the only person on earth preserving American filmstrips. The media format is largely forgotten and very… Internet Archive Buster Keaton Rides Again 1965 · Educational · 56 min Producer, Julian Biggs; director and photographer, John Spotton; commentary, Donald Brittain An informal view of Buster Keaton, showing how he relaxes, plots… Internet Archive The San Andreas Fault 1974 · Educational · 20 min · Subtitles Produced in cooperation with the American Geological Institute With teacher's guide Producer, Bert van Bork; collaborators, William H. Matthews, John S.… Internet Archive New York, New York 1964 · Educational · 15 min · Subtitles Musical score, Gene Forrell Fast-moving, colorful, semi-abstract images made with special lenses are interspersed with photographs of the city. Muscial score… Internet Archive Sociobiology: The Human Animal 1977 · Educational · 26 min · Subtitles Sociobiology: The Human Animal, Reel 2 Reel 1 available here Focuses on sociobiology, a new and controversial science which holds that behavior is… Internet Archive The Aging of lakes 1971 · Educational · 13 min · Subtitles Traces the aging process of lakes, showing how man's interference with the environment causes critical changes in the natural ecology. Describes efforts to… Internet Archive Witches [motion picture] : new fashion, old religion 1977 · Educational · 40 min A businessman who studies witchcraft as a hobby and a businesswoman who heads a coven are interviewed about their beliefs and practices. Shows the initiation… Internet Archive The Second World War: Prelude to Conflict (1963) 1964 · Educational · 29 min The Second World War: Prelude to Conflict Reviews significant events in the last days of the Civil War, noting the effect of the industrial might of the North… Internet Archive The World at War 22 -- Japan 1941 · Educational · 54 min · Subtitles Recounts the way in which the Japanese at home were persuaded to support the war, which came as a complete surprise to them. A Japanese woman says, "Stories… Internet Archive The Grizzly bear--a case study in field research 1968 · Educational · 21 min · Subtitles Special edited version With teacher's guide Search Educational Film Journals at Media History Project for references to this film Summary Demonstrates various… Internet Archive Shaw vs. Shakespeare II: The Tragedy of Julius Caesar 1970 · Educational · 30 min In maintaining that Brutus was the least morally-reprehensible character in Shakespeare’s play, Shaw here plays the critic, offering analysis to the scenes… Internet Archive Pollution is a Matter of Choice 1970 · Educational · 25 min · Subtitles Pollution is a Matter of Choice reel 1 Examines the environmental dilemma of modern man who has it in his power to preserve or ruin his environment. Uses the… Internet Archive Mission Mind Control 1979 · Educational National Archives and Records Administration - ARC Identifier 37950 / Local Identifier 170.110 - Mission Mind Control - Department of Justice. Drug… Internet Archive Dances of the Kwakiutl 1951 · Educational A magnificent film featuring Pacific Northwest Indian dances of the ancient winter ceremonial handed down among the Kwakiutl families as their way of keeping… Internet Archive Q'eros: the shape of survival, a film 1979 · Educational · 20 min · Subtitles Robert Gardener, Caitlin FitzGerald Edited by Paul Justman ; sound by Emilio Rodriquez Summary Looks at the lifestyle of the Qeros Indian who have lived in… Internet Archive Normal Speech Articulation (1965) 1965 · Educational · 24 min Demonstrates through extensive use of X-ray motion pictures, some of the characteristics of speech sound articulation in normal speakers. Biologist and author… Internet Archive The Shock of the New: The Threshold of Liberty: Part 2 1980 · Educational · 30 min · Subtitles The Shock of the New: The Threshold of Liberty: Part 2 Part 5 of an 8-part series which presents a social history of the impact and development of the visual…